In 2018, the University of North Texas became the first public educational institution in the state to offer an esports program. A year later, the university began offering scholarships to esports players.
Now the University of North Texas is launching an esports team dedicated to women players and will offer scholarships to members of the team. Women were eligible for esports scholarships before, but this new program will be dedicated to players on the women’s team.
“Women in video games, especially in competitive esports, face toxicity, gender discrimination, and harassment that their male counterparts don’t experience,” explains Dylan Wray, esports coordinator at the University of North Texas.
The scholarships are being sponsored by RGB Custom PC, a manufacturer of custom-gaming computers. Holly Millay, CEO of the company is an alumna of the University of North Texas.
Students interested in the scholarship will be judged for competitive eligibility by the UNT Esports varsity team athletes and coaches who will submit a report of the candidate’s overall skill and team viability through a tryout scrimmage to the selection committee. Preference will be given to students who are members or in support of The*gameHERs or similar organizations that pledge to empower non-cis male esport athletes.