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]

An esports arena at an American university.

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
Colleges and universities with esports teams[13][14]
School Location
Albion College Michigan
Albright College[15] Pennsylvania
Anderson University (IN) Indiana
Aquinas College Michigan
Arcadia University Pennsylvania
Ashland University Ohio
Averett University Virginia
Ball State University Indiana
Barry University[16] Florida
Barton Community College Kansas
Bay State College Massachusetts
Becker College Massachusetts
Bellevue University Nebraska
Bemidji State University Minnesota
Benedictine University at Mesa Arizona
Bethel College Indiana
Boise State University Idaho
Bowling Green State University[17] Ohio
Brescia University Kentucky
Bryant & Stratton College Virginia
California State University, Dominguez Hills California
Campbellsville University Kentucky
Central Methodist University Missouri
Central Michigan University Michigan
Centralia College Washington
Cincinnati Christian University Ohio
Coker College South Carolina
College of St. Joseph Vermont
Colorado College[18] Colorado
Columbia College Missouri
Columbia College South Carolina
Concordia University (Nebraska) Nebraska
Concordia University (Texas) Texas
Cottey College Missouri
Crowder College Missouri
Culver-Stockton College Missouri
Cumberland University Tennessee
Daemen College New York
Davenport University Michigan
Defiance College Ohio
DeSales University[19] Pennsylvania
Dickinson State University North Dakota
DigiPen Institute of Technology Washington
Eastern Michigan University Michigan
ECPI University Virginia
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Arizona
Fairfield University Connecticut
Ferris State University Michigan
Full Sail University Florida
Fontbonne University Missouri
Florida Southern College Florida
Florida State University Florida
Georgia Southern University Georgia
Georgia State University Georgia
Grand View University Iowa
Harrisburg University Pennsylvania
Hawkeye Community College Iowa
Henderson State University Arkansas
Illinois College Illinois
Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois
Immaculata University[20] Pennsylvania
Indiana Institute of Technology Indiana
Juniata College[21] Pennsylvania
Kansas Wesleyan University Kansas
Kean University New Jersey
Kent State University Ohio
Kettering University Michigan
King University Tennessee
King's College[22] Pennsylvania
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania[23] Pennsylvania
Lackawanna College Pennsylvania
Lambton College Ontario
Lawrence Technological University Michigan
Lebanon Valley College Pennsylvania
Lees-McRae College North Carolina
Lourdes University Ohio
Marietta College Ohio
Maryville University Missouri
Marywood University[24] Pennsylvania
McPherson College Kansas
Menlo College California
Messiah University[25] Pennsylvania
Miami University Ohio
Michigan Technological University Michigan
Midland University Nebraska
Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota
Missouri Baptist University Missouri
Missouri Valley College Missouri
Monroe College[26] New York
Mount Aloysius College[27] Pennsylvania
Morningside College Iowa
Neumann University[28] Pennsylvania
New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico
New Mexico State University New Mexico
Niagara University New York
University of North Alabama Alabama
Northeastern University Massachusetts
Northern Essex Community College Massachusetts
Northern Virginia Community College Virginia
Northwest Christian University Oregon
Northwood University Michigan
Norwich University[29] Vermont
Oakland University Michigan
Ohio Northern University[30] Ohio
Oklahoma City University[31] Oklahoma
Oregon Institute of Technology Oregon
Oregon State University Oregon
Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania College of Technology Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania
Point Park University[32] Pennsylvania
Pratt Community College Kansas
Principia College Illinois
Randolph-Macon College Virginia
Robert Morris University Illinois Illinois
Robert Morris University[33] Pennsylvania
Rochester Institute of Technology[34] New York
Rowan University New Jersey
Rutgers University New Jersey
Schreiner University Texas
Seton Hill University[35] Pennsylvania
Shenandoah University Virginia
Simpson College Iowa
St. Louis College of Pharmacy Missouri
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology South Dakota
Southern Virginia University Virginia[36]
Southwestern College Kansas
Southwest Baptist University Missouri
St. Ambrose University Iowa
St. Clair College Ontario
St. Cloud State University Minnesota
St. Francis University[37] Pennsylvania
St. John's University (New York City) New York
St. Mary's University Texas
St. Thomas Aquinas College New York
St. Thomas University Florida
Stephens College Missouri
Stockton University New Jersey
Stevenson University Maryland
SUNY Canton New York
Sussex County Community College[38][39] New Jersey
Temple University Pennsylvania
Tennessee Technological University Tennessee
Texas A&M University-San Antonio Texas
Texas Wesleyan University Texas
Thomas College Maine[40]
Tiffin University Ohio
Trine University Indiana
United States Air Force Academy Colorado
University at Albany New York
University of Akron Ohio
University of Arizona Arizona
University at Buffalo New York
University of California-Berkeley California
University of California-Irvine California
University of Central Oklahoma Oklahoma
University of Colorado Boulder[41] Colorado
University of Delaware Delaware[42]
University of Jamestown North Dakota
University of Kentucky Kentucky
University of Louisville Kentucky
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Maryland
University of Missouri Missouri
University of Montana Montana
University of New Haven Connecticut
University of New Mexico New Mexico
University of North Dakota North Dakota
University of North Texas Texas
University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
University of Pikeville Kentucky
University of Providence Montana
University of Oregon Oregon
University of Oklahoma Oklahoma
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Illinois[43]
University of Southern California California
University of South Carolina-Sumter South Carolina
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga[44] Tennessee
University of Texas at Dallas Texas
University of Utah Utah
University of Washington Washington
Utah Tech University Utah
Wake Forest University North Carolina
Wartburg College Iowa
West Virginia University West Virginia
West Virginia Wesleyan College West Virginia
Western Kentucky University Kentucky
Wichita State University Kansas
Wilkes University[45] Pennsylvania
William & Mary Virginia
Winthrop University South Carolina
Yavapai College Arizona
York County Community College[46] Maine

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  2. "Tespa, Blizzard's Collegiate Partner is Closing Down". Esports Talk.
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  4. "UCI announced LoL scholarship". polygon.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  5. "Collegiate Starleague partners with Riot to run uLoL Campus Series Tournament". esportsobserver.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  6. "Riot Games announces new partnership, format for College Season". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
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  35. "Esports at Seton Hill". Seton Hill University. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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  38. "Esports to be Added to Sussex Athletics". sussexskylanders.com/sports/esports/.
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  40. "Thomas College Esports". thomas.edu/esports/.
  41. "ATLAS Student Groups:CU Gaming Club". tam.colorado.edu/. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
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