The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on a new avenue for college scholarships: eSports.

The AJC: “Atlanta-based KontrolFreek, which makes popular “performance thumbstick” extenders and sweat-resistant grips for gamers (not kidding), recently awarded $3,000 college scholarships to three students nationally who are eSports competitors.”

“‘It’s something that parents should be proud of,’ said Ashish Mistry, KontrolFreek’s CEO.”

“He plans another round of scholarships next year. Other companies are ponying up money, too.”

And this isn’t the only opportunity for college eSports competitors:

“This fall, the University of California at Irvine plans to offer $5,600 scholarships (covering about half of in-state tuition) for 10 top student gamers. It claims to be the first public university to offer scholarships for eSports team members who will represent the school in competitions with teams from other colleges.”

““It is a chance to be the best at something that is going to be bigger than traditional sports,” said Mark Deppe, the acting director of UCI’s eSports program.”