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Concordia University Texas may be small, but its eSports program would have you believe otherwise.
The big picture: The Austin school, which has a student population of roughly 2,500, is one of just a handful of Texas colleges and universities with a varsity eSports team.
It's a sign of the growing popularity of online gaming, especially at colleges, according to Marc Valdoria, eSports coordinator at Concordia.
Why it matters: Esports, or competitive video gaming, is rapidly expanding and especially fashionable among younger gamers, and the pandemic helped the industry skyrocket in popularity and revenue.
Yes, but: Bigger schools like the University of Texas have been slow to respond to the increasing popularity of eSports despite calls from students for more institutional support.
Still, both Austin and Dallas were named among the top U.S. cities for gamers in a recent report by Commercial Cafe.
The Concordia eSports team trains like a run-of-the-mill varsity college team, according to Valdoria. They hold practices, review film, maintain GPA requirements, host team meals and travel to tournaments together.
The bottom line: Competitive video gaming isn’t going anywhere. Expect to see a growing number of university teams as the industry continues to boom.
"It’s only a matter of time before the big leagues start catching up," Valdoria told Axios.
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