I think that the author makes a very unfair comparison between traditional collegiate sports and esports.

The amount of training that is required for pro gamers to operate at their peak requires a level of devotion that totally surpasses anything I've seen in college sports.

In traditional sports, the level of competition is subject to the limitation of human frailty. In other words, practicing more than 6 hours a day for 5 days a week is about as much as a world class athlete can physically handle. There are a few rare exceptions.

This limitation doesn't apply to professional gaming to the same extent. The most significant limitation pro gamers face (assuming adequate financial freedom) is sleep, and, perhaps less importantly, maintaining a moderately healthy body.

It's perfectly normal for players to practice up to 12 hours a day, and I think this has a profound effect on what is required of a gamer to remain competitive at the highest level.

What I'm getting at is that if you want to be the best, you shouldn't have time to study. Trying to balance being a full-time student and a full-time gamer will only result in being mediocre at both; That's the reason this whole divide between college and pro gaming exists in the first place.

Blizzard, Riot, etc. may have all the best intentions, and they can say whatever they want to get their crack onto school campuses, but all this talk of "healthier competition" and "widening the talent pool" is meaningless unless you can address the issues I've laid out.

Regarding solutions: lowering the skill cap of a game doesn't actually decrease the amount of time required for players to be the best.

The only advice I can give is to offer college students a game that's so good that they simply stop caring about the real world. I'd be down for that.