The East Coast Conference (ECC) will introduce League of Legends as a sport and host their own seasons as well in 2019 and 2020. In addition, the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) will be bringing three more seasons of College League of Legends to their players in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons.
“The East Coast conference is excited to be partnering with League of Legends and Riot Games as we move into the world of collegiate esports. We look forward to hosting our first season of League of Legends play in spring 2019 culminating in our championship tournament. And we are also looking to partnering with our NCAA DII colleagues at the Peach Belt conference to offer some conference crossover play as well. Working with Riot Games, we believe we will be able to offer a great experience to our ECC teams,” said Dr. Robert Dranoff, ECC Commissioner.
“We are very excited to be continuing our relationship with Riot Games for another three years,” said PBC commissioner David Brunk. “Our first season of League of Legends was groundbreaking in so many ways and we are grateful to Riot and Michael Sherman for their support through that season into our live conference championship. We appreciate their confidence in us to continue the relationship as we continue to build our League of Legends presence and establish the Peach Belt as a leader in collegiate Esports.”
Starting next January, schools from both conferences will compete in their own respective conferences in a regular season before advancing into their own conference championships. Each conference will then qualify their champion and finalist into the League of Legends College Championship Play-In where they can battle against other top schools for a chance to compete in the Championship. More information can be found on their websites (https://www.eccsports.org/landing/index,https://www.peachbeltconference.org/landing/index).
“Since Robert Morris University became the first school in 2014 to launch a varsity League of Legends program and offer scholarships for gamers, ambitious colleges and athletic conferences have looked for opportunities to bring esports to their students,” said Michael Sherman, College Esports Lead for Riot Games. “We are working hard to continue expanding League of Legends into additional athletic conferences and are excited to have these two on board for future seasons.”
About College League of Legends
College League of Legends is made of up of more than 500 student run clubs, 300 competitive teams, and more than 70 varsity esports programs on college campuses across North America. Since its first college tournament in 2014, Riot Games has been at the forefront of the college esports – doling out more than $1 million in scholarships this year. For 2018 season, Riot and the Big Ten Network awarded nearly $500,000 in scholarship money, furthering educational opportunities for their players.
About the East Coast Conference
Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, Conn.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); Daemen College (Amherst, N.Y.); LIU Post (Brookville, N.Y.); Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy College (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester, N.Y.) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.).
The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; eSports; men’s and women’s lacrosse; softball; men’s and women’s tennis; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; and women’s volleyball.
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.
About the Peach Belt Conference
Founded in 1991, the Peach Belt Conference is home to 35 NCAA Division II national champions. With 12 schools in five states in the southeast, the league has emerged at the forefront of innovation and leadership in the division. The PBC hosts 15 championships and became the first NCAA conference to hold an Esports championship in 2018. For 2018-19, league members are Augusta University, Clayton State University, Columbus State University, Flagler College, Francis Marion University, Georgia College, Georgia Southwestern State University, Lander University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the University of North Georgia, the University of South Carolina Aiken and Young Harris College.
Release provided by Riot Games & the East Coast Conference