Overview

Collegiate esports has rapidly moved from the margins of student life into the institutional core of higher education. Universities now invest in esports programs, facilities, and credentials-often without clear disciplinary foundations or stable academic frameworks. Institutionalizing Esports in Higher Education examines collegiate esports as an institutional formation rather than a cultural trend or pedagogical innovation. Drawing on institutional theory, the sociology of higher education, and education policy analysis, this book explores how legitimacy is constructed through governance arrangements, administrative structures, policy alignment, and symbolic adoption-frequently in the absence of disciplinary consolidation. Rather than asking whether esports belongs in higher education, this book asks how universities attempt to make it belong. Using collegiate esports as a diagnostic case, the book analyzes: How universities govern and position esports within existing institutional hierarchies Why legitimacy can emerge without disciplinary knowledge production The role of student labor, curriculum design, and pedagogical claims How national policy contexts shape institutional adoption, with focused analysis of Saudi Arabia This book contributes to debates in higher education studies, sociology of education, and esports studies by revealing how contemporary universities negotiate academic authority, organizational legitimacy, and emerging domains under conditions of uncertainty.

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