This is the final part of a three-part series examining the structure of esports leagues. Part One focused the choice developers of the biggest esports have made between a franchise model or third-party tournaments. Part Two focused on the minor leagues developed by Riot and Blizzard to support their franchises. This part looks at the collegiate esports landscape and how that fits in with the pro level.
Colleges act as an unofficial minor league for many traditional sports. Football and basketball are the two most notable examples of this, but the majority of American pro sports leagues still hunt for talent in the collegiate system. In spite of the fact many esports amateurs are college-age kids, that link is much weaker in esports, at least right now.
“We look a lot more like the NBA did 10 years ago in how college isn’t the only viable route to enter the League Championship Series,” says League of Legends North America Commissioner Chris Greeley. “From Riot’s point of view, we want to keep all lanes open. We don’t want to prescribe that people must go to college and play through a college program for a year and then go to Academy, but if that is the way it naturally develops we are not opposed to that.”
Without a governing body overseeing collegiate esports, the schools and the game developers are the ones creating tournaments and leagues. Riot has worked hard to develop its collegiate landscape. College League of Legends was revamped in 2018 with the goal of having schools treat the game the same way they treat other college sports, according to J.T. Vandenbree, who leads league operations for College LoL.
In 2013, Blizzard announced a partnership with collegiate esports organization Tespa. With chapters in 253 institutions Tespa holds leagues in Blizzard games Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch. However, Blizzard still doesn’t see Tespa as the main path to the pro leagues.
“[Tespa] plays a role that isn’t the same as the Contenders program. It’s more like two separate identities,” says Dan McHugh, product manager for Overwatch Esports. “We do see players from the collegiate program that make it into our path for pro. The formal way to get into the major league is through Contenders not the collegiate/Tespa route.”
Perhaps the biggest hurdle in the growth of a collegiate route to pro esports will be the NCAA. Involvement with the biggest collegiate athletics association will likely bring with it issues over amateurism, Title IX, and revenue sharing.
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Especially in esports, the area that poses the largest potential hazard might be streaming. As players approach the top ranks of a game, many begin to earn money through Twitch streams of their play. But NCAA athletes cannot earn money through their sport. This same dilemma already exists in more traditional sports. In March, five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky declared she would turn pro after her sophomore season at Stanford. The swimmer won’t be leaving campus, and will continue to train with her former teammates, but will now be able to sign lucrative endorsement deals.
Still NCAA affiliation does have benefits. Over 50 colleges have esports varsity programs, but just eight of those are D-I schools, and only the University of Utah is in a Power Five conference. Change is coming, but slowly. In January, 10 student-organized clubs from schools in the Pac-12 teamed up with Utah’s program to create a league called the Pacific Alliance of Collegiate Gamers (PACG). The NCAA could bring instant, massive adoption of esports by name-brand schools across the country.
“If [esports] want to to be countrywide and be supported, [the community] will have to work with the NCAA,” says Rod Breslau a former ESPN writer and current esports consultant. “To see the boom it has given to American sports, especially football and basketball, the impact is unbelievable. [The esports community] will eventually have to come to terms with the NCAA.”
Another problem for collegiate esports is simply age. Last year, Juan “Contractz” Arturo Garcia, who turned 18 in August, was a key member of Cloud 9’s run to League of Legends Worlds. This spring, 15-year-old Justin “JSTN” Morales helped NRG Esports to an undefeated season and second place finish in the North America Rocket League Championship Series.
Because there isn’t a physical component to esports, players can rise to the highest level long before they are fully grown. Last year, ESPN calculated that the average age of an esports pro was between one and seven years younger than players of traditional sports, depending on the game. League of Legends pros averaged 21.2 years old, the same age as many college students.
The impact of age means that players may skip college to turn pro and also explains why nearly every school already has some sort of esports or gaming club. Right now those groups operate mostly behind the scenes and don’t fit into a collegiate sports structure. But as esports continues its ascent, more big-name institutions are likely to get involved and schools may increasingly advertise and monetize those esports programs.