Wags Keeping At It

If you've been following along, there isn't much new in a story in The Dartmouth headlined, Athletes discuss decision to go pro post-Dartmouth. The story did mention, however, that graduated safety Garrett Waggoner has upcoming workouts slated with the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars. (LINK) Waggoner already tried out with the Detroit Lions, but was not offered a contract. There's also a mention of graduated tailback Dominick Pierre and thoughts from Abbey D'Agostino in the story.

•

This is kind of fun. Former Harvard captain Collin Zych and former Yale captain Tom McCarthy will be back at it after battling a year ago for a top-three finish in the Wall Street Decathlon. Last year Zych edged McCarthy for third in the charity event. There will be alums from every Ivy League football team -- except Dartmouth -- according to this Bloomberg story.

•

Headline: Online Athletes? Robert Morris University to Offer 'eSports' Scholarships

Reading that headline, the first thing I did was check the date of the entry. It was posted two days ago, not April 1. From the story:

 Is online gaming a sport worthy of including in a college's athletic program?

Robert Morris University thinks so, announcing this month that student-athletes can compete in League of Legends online games as part of its newly launched "eSports" program, calling it an "online sport."

Citing the "large surge in popularity" of video game competitions, the university announced that the school "recognizes the value and legitimacy of eSports and is excited to add eSports to its already rich athletic curriculum," that also includes championship-winning women's lacrosse and men's basketball teams.

Find the full story here.

That sent me scurrying for more, and I found this:

The future of college sports is League of Legends. At least, according to Robert Morris University, who will be adding the game to their athletic program.

The Robert Morris University Illinois Eagles will be competing alongside 103 other schools in the Collegiate Star League this upcoming season, but they’ll be unique in that they’re offering scholarships worth up to 50 percent tuition and 50 percent room and board to “qualified” gamers. That’s as much as $19,000 per student.

The Robert Morris site is here and there is an ABC news video report here that includes comments from an associate athletic director at the school. Watch that news report if you dare.

I'm speechless . . .