---
title: "Schools in Eight States Now Have Varsity Video Game Teams"
description: "In eight states, high schools are now offering esports as a varsity level sport for students, according to CNN — a glimpse of the future of sports."
date: "2019-04-08"
modified: "2019-04-08"
authors:
  - name: "Natalie Coleman"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/natalie"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/schools-varsity-video-game-teams"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "education"
  - "esports"
  - "gaming"
  - "the digest"
---

# Schools in Eight States Now Have Varsity Video Game Teams

![In eight states, high schools are now offering esports as a varsity level sport for students, according to CNN — a glimpse of the future of sports.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/schools-varsity-video-game-teams.png>)
*\<em\>Image: via Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Game Time

Dust off your Letterman jackets, because gamers are becoming the latest varsity athletes.

In eight states, high schools are now offering esports as a varsity level sport for students, [according to *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/18/tech/esports-varsity-arena/index.html>) — meaning the young athletes attend practice and play in tournaments**,** all from behind monitors.

## New Meta

*CNN* found that in 2018, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas began offering esports as an option for students, with New York and New Jersey now [considering it](<https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/03/27/new-york-and-new-jersey-exploring-addition-high-school-esports/3003251002/>) as well.

"It's a hobby that they're passionate about and we want to encourage that and give them a pathway to a career in the future, whether that's as a professional video game player or in a STEM career that helps to develop future games," Johnson STEM Activity Center executive director Brian Prokes told *CNN*.

## Virtual Homework

Esports is expected to generate more than $1 billion in 2019, [according to a report](<https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-global-esports-economy-will-top-1-billion-for-the-first-time-in-2019/>) from the research firm Newzoo, with an audience of more than 454 million.

Some pro athletes have scored NBA-style endorsement deal [with Nike](<http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/nike-jian-zihao-esports-endorsement-lebron-james>), and [championship games](<https://www.gamespot.com/articles/dota-2-the-international-tournament-prize-pool-set/1100-6461253/>) boast prizes of more than $10 million, and more than 130 institutions offer $15 million total in scholarships for esports athletes in the U.S. and Canada, [according to](<https://nacesports.org/about/>) the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE).

**READ MORE:** [Video games are now a legitimate high school sport](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/18/tech/esports-varsity-arena/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on esports:** *[A Guy Trained on Video Games Just Beat a Formula 1 Driver on a Real Track](<https://futurism.com/sim-racing-virtual-motorsport-beat-formula1>)*