Shoryuken.com yesterday announced the Evo Annual $10,000 College Scholarship, in a bid to support the next generation of players.

SRK Founder and President Tom ‘inkblot’ Cannon, who is also a co-founder of the Evolution Championship Series, explained in a post on srk.com that competitive gaming “is not just a way to test yourself, earn great prizes, and connect with fellow players; it can also be a gateway to a fulfilling industry profession.”

And the scholarship is meant to encourage that. The $10,000 is intended for a student studying towards a degree in game design, game development, or computer science at an accredited university. It’s going to be funded by the Evo 2k12 pay-per-viw HD stream – all profits made by the stream will go directly into the scholarship fund.

And regardless of how much money the stream generates, the scholarship will still run. inkblot has made a personal promise:

“I believe in this so strongly that I’m going to personally guarantee the $10,000 scholarship.” He wrote on SRK.com. “If the HD stream is successful, it will cover the costs. If not, I will pay the scholarship out of my pocket.”

Application details will be available in July.