iBUYPOWER Launches eSports Arena, Scholarship Program At RMU

iBUYPOWER and Robert Morris University-Illinois (RMU) recently announced that they have agreed to establish the world's first university-level eSports arena on the school's campus. RMU has also become the world's first university to offer a full scholarship program based on eSports.

Construction of the arena is close to being finished, and iBUYPOWER is already stocking it up with gaming systems using the latest Intel Core i7 processors and GeForce GTX cards from Nvidia. The PC maker doesn't provide specific specs, but promises that the company will "make no compromises" when it comes to high-performance, eSports level of gaming.

An iBUYPOWER representative told Tom's Hardware that the new eSports arena fits around 50 people, and it currently houses 36 systems. RMU chose iBUYPOWER because of the company's previous involvement with eSports, and because it's the most involved system integrator on the market.

"eSports has been an integral part of iBUYPOWER culture for some time, with a full program that reaches out to the eSports gaming community in all aspects of the game," the press release said. "iBUYPOWER has been fostering the growth of eSports with pro teams, streamers, leagues, events, competitions, and now solidifying eSport's place in education."

Kurt Melcher, Associate Athletic Director and eSports Coordinator at Robert Morris University-Illinois, said that RMU is thrilled that the university is launching an eSports scholarship program, and that it's "putting eSports on the map in higher-education." With this new arena, he believes that RMU is changing the way the world looks at the combination of education and gaming.

For now, the arena is for varsity players at RMU only; it's not for the public. However, the iBUYPOWER rep hinted that there may be a limited number of tournaments that aren't RMU-related in the future.

Follow Kevin Parrish @exfileme. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.