Ohio's Ashland University has announced that their esports program is adding Fortnite's Battle Royale mode to its offerings this autumn, as revealed by head coach Josh Buchanan, meaning that it'll be the first known collegiate program in the US to add the game to its official esports program.
"Fortnite appeals to both the core and casual gaming audience," said Buchanan. "We're excited to provide this platform for gamers who want to showcase their skills in a more competitive space. Fortnite facilitates an environment that allows players to get creative, innovate and show off their mastery of their skills."
Four-player teams will be assembled as part of squads, who will practice and compete with one another in the hope of official collegiate leagues emerging for the game. Of course tryouts will be taking place closer to the time, although for now you can fill out a form here to register your interest.
"The growth of Fortnite has been astounding to witness and getting players into structured practices ahead of the launch of a collegiate league will be extremely beneficial to our program," Buchanan added.
The esports program as a whole - which includes other games like Rocket League, Overwatch, League of Legends, and CS:GO - offers scholarships of up to $4,000 USD based on skill level and academic requirements, and Fortnite is just the latest step for this program.
Fortnite is slowly growing more and more in popularity when it comes to esports, as although it hasn't had events to the same scale as competitor PUBG, it has had notable events already like the live charity event hosted by streamer Ninja, with the promise of another celebrity event at E3 too.
Do you think that more colleges should invest in Fortnite?