College esports in the United States
College esports in the United States began around 2009. Various schools began forming esports clubs to play any number of video games in collegiate tournaments. While there are thousands of schools that participate in collegiate esports competitions, in 2018, there were at least 73 college varsity esports programs, and by 2019 over 130 college varsity programs.[1] College esports is often viewed as a starting path for gamers that aspire to go professional. Although popular, companies are finding it hard to monetize collegiate esports, especially with the recent COVID-19 situation. On December 9, 2020, North American collegiate partner of Activision-Blizzard's esports system, Tespa announced that it is closing down.[2]
Riot Games Collegiate League of Legends[]
In 2016, the NACC became the University League of Legends (uLoL) Campus Series, run by CSL, after IvyLoL and NACL stopped functioning and many of their staff were hired as Riot Games employees to orchestrate their collegiate activities.[3][4][5] In the Fall of 2017, Riot Games announced that it would rebrand again as College League of Legends and switch official partners from CSL to Battlefy.[6] In May 2019, Riot Games announced the formation of the Riot Scholastic Association of America (RSAA) as the governing body for collegiate and high school esports for League of Legends.[7]
Esports Collegiate Conference[]
A conference created on June 10, 2020, by member institutions of the Mid-American Conference.[8]
PlayVS[]
PlayVS was founded in 2018 and started as a high school esports platform. In January 2020, PlayVS announced they were expanding to the collegiate scene by offering Fortnite.[9] PlayVS has since expanded its title offering to include Rocket League, League of Legends, Overwatch, FIFA and Madden NFL.
National Association of Collegiate Esports[]
The National Association of Collegiate Esports, otherwise known as NACE or NAC Esports, was founded in 2016.[10] As of 2021, its membership includes over 170 colligate organizations.[11] The organization offers competition in Rocket League, League of Legends, Overwatch, and other titles.[12]
List of colleges and universities with esports teams[]
References[]
- ^ "List of varsity esports programs spans North America". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
- ^ "Tespa, Blizzard's Collegiate Partner is Closing Down". Esports Talk.
- ^ "uLoL Campus Series - North America's League of Legends Collegiate League". dotesports.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- ^ "UCI announced LoL scholarship". polygon.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- ^ "Collegiate Starleague partners with Riot to run uLoL Campus Series Tournament". esportsobserver.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- ^ "Riot Games announces new partnership, format for College Season". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- ^ "Riot Games establishes governing body for college, high school programs". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- ^ "Dozen MAC schools create separate conference for esports". RoyalOakTribune.com. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "PlayVS brings Fortnite to high school and college esports tournaments". January 22, 2020.
- ^ Grant, August E.; Meadows, Jennifer H. (2018). Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals: 16th Edition. Taylor & Francis. p. 401. ISBN 9781351334631.
- ^ "About NAC Esports". NAC Esports. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ Staff, S. V. G. "Esports Companies Unite to Form Partnership to Create Largest Collegiate Offering In North America". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ "Varsity Esports | Find Colleges with Esports Teams". www.ncsasports.org. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ^ "NAC Esports Members". members.nacesports.org. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "eSports to be added as Albright varsity sport". Albright College. October 1, 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Esports". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Esports". DeSales Athletics. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Esports". gomightymacs.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Juniata College Esports". Juniata College. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Esports". kingscollegeathletics. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Esports Club". ENGAGE@KU. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Esports at MU". MU Esports. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ "ESPORTS AT MESSIAH UNIVERSITY". Messiah University. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Monroe College Announces Addition of Esports to Mustangs Athletic Program". Monroe College Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
- ^ "Esports at Mount Aloysius College". Mount Aloysius College. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Esports". Neumann Athletics. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Esports at OCU". OCU Esports. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- ^ "Varsity Esports team coming to ONU in fall 2019". Ohio Northern Athletics. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ "Esports". Point Park Sports. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Esports". Robert Morris University Club Sports. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Esports at Seton Hill". Seton Hill University. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "Southern Virginia Esports". esports.svu.edu.
- ^ "Esports at SFU". Saint Francis University. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Thomas College Esports". thomas.edu/esports/.
- ^ "ATLAS Student Groups:CU Gaming Club". tam.colorado.edu/. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ "Esports | Student Centers". Retrieved 2021-08-19.
- ^ "Illini Esports". esports.illinois.edu.
External links[]
- College esports in the United States