In April 2018, the University of North Texas became the first public university in the state to launch a collegiate esports program. Now, UNT continues to lead the way by becoming the first public university in Texas to offer scholarships for its esports gamers. Scholarships will be awarded to current players and recruits who show the exceptional talent and team dedication needed to play at the varsity level.

“We are serious about esports,” said UNT Vice President for Student Affairs Elizabeth With. “We already have one of the best college teams in the nation and we’d like to keep it that way. In addition to the new scholarships, we launched a new Rocket League team that recently took first place in a demonstration tournament at DreamHack Dallas, decisively beating the University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University.”

UNT Esports currently fields four varsity teams: Overwatch, League of Legends, Hearthstone and Rocket League. The teams are led by UNT Esports coordinator Dylan Wray and supported by a graduate assistant, student staff and volunteers who work with the gamers to ensure they continue to perform at the highest level while maintaining a proper balance with classes and university life.

Varsity tryouts for the 2019-2020 season, take place online August 2-16. Incoming and current UNT students can register at our website. Prospective students for the 2020-2021 season should join UNT’s discord communityf or recruitment and future tryout information. 

“Last year we saw our students work very hard to achieve our program’s success,” said Wray. “This scholarship will support our students in their competitive and academic goals at UNT, as well as attract new talent to maintain our competitive edge in a quickly growing, and competitive field.”