RIT introduces esports scholarships (2025)

Rochester Institute of Technology is launching its first esports scholarships.

The scholarships recognize students for their competitive video gaming skills and dedication to representing the university at the highest level. Since forming in 2016, RIT Esports has become one of the largest and best collegiate esports programs in the world.

Starting in fall 2025, RIT will offer 20 scholarships for new students—providing $2,000 each year. The university will also offer performance-based scholarships for select current students.

As the esports industry has grown—with millions of viewers and billions of dollars in revenue—more than 200 colleges have formed esports teams. Several have begun offering scholarships.

RIT is not only offering scholarships for competitive student-athletes. RIT scholarships are also available to students with the skills to run esports operations teams. RIT’s seven student-led support teams help run everything from designing the jerseys to running events to broadcasting live-streamed matches.

“We want to attract and support these high-caliber esports students, who are hyper-intelligent and driven to succeed in all aspects of life,” saidChad Weeden, director of esports and cybersecurity range at RIT. “Frankly, it’s also fun to win national championships.”

RIT Esports has brought home 18 national championships, and students have won more than $100,000 in prizes. RIT Esports currently competes in 23 games, includingRocket League,Hearthstone, League of Legends, andOverwatch.

With more than 200 competitive players and around 2,600 community members,RIT Esportsis bigger than many college athletics programs.

RIT community supports scholarships

RIT Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic AffairsPrabu David has been a big supporter of RIT Esports. He helped to make the new scholarships happen.

“These esports scholarships recognize our talented student-athletes who use their technical expertise to perform at the highest level,” said David.

David also noted that RIT is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 game design schools, according tointernational rankingsfrom The Princeton Review.

“Esports at RIT is also a community builder, bringing together students from different majors and backgrounds, including our students who are deaf and hard of hearing,” said David. “We realize that esports is male-dominated and one of the goals of this scholarship opportunity is for RIT to be a leader in showcasing the talents of women in esports.”

Ben Feldstein, a fourth-year management information systems major and vice president of RIT Esports, worked with the provost to develop the new esports scholarships. Feldstein has also won two national championships as part of RIT’s Counter-Strike 2 team.

“It’s like any other profession or skill, like traditional sports or playing musical instruments,” said Feldstein, who is from Manhattan, N.Y. “There are so many young people who put their blood, sweat, tears, and love into honing their skills to play these titles.”

Feldstein continued. “I think these scholarships are going to help set up students for success after school—whether they make it to the pros or not. We’re proving to everyone that we have great students here and they dream big.”