New College Esports League Launches; Contest Opens with Madden NFL

Level Next esports

Two companies have announced a new college esports league. The league will be run by Learfield IMG College (not an institution of higher education, but a company involved in intercollegiate athletics) and game producer Electronic Arts. "Level Next," as the new league is called, will serve as the home of EA's college esports contests. Under the new league, students can participate without being a member of a collegiate team; and schools can participate as well.

The first qualifier competition for Level Next began yesterday, with registration open to college students currently attending a four-year accredited university. There's no charge for participating. Participants are playing rounds of Madden NFL. The competition follows an eight-week format, with a regular season, playoffs and a championship. The two companies have promised a pool of $150,000 in prizes with $32,000 tagged to be awarded to campus esports programs through a Twitter social marketing contest. The winning team will also become a "national champion" for its school.

"Until now, collegiate esports has been primarily small-scale, community-based and fragmented. This program will bring the excitement and camaraderie of college competition to a new level," said Todd Sitrin, a senior vice president and general manager for EA Competitive Gaming Entertainment, in a press release.

"The creation of Level Next is an unprecedented opportunity for all of our partners within the collegiate ecosystem — from brands who wish to target this unique and fast-growing audience, to universities who aim to tap into significant engagement being generated in and around esports," added Cole Gahagan, Learfield IMG College president and CEO.

Level Next stated that it would host multiple seasons each year and feature games from different publishers. Eventually, streaming of games will appear on Level Next's Twitch channel.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • AI-inspired background pattern with geometric shapes and fine lines in muted blue and gray on a dark background

    IBM Releases Granite 3.0 Family of Advanced AI Models

    IBM has introduced its most advanced family of AI models to date, Granite 3.0, at its annual TechXchange event. The new models were developed to provide a combination of performance, flexibility, and autonomy that outperforms or matches similarly sized models from leading providers on a range of benchmarks.

  • Abstract geometric shapes, including squares and rectangles, are arranged in a grid-like pattern with connecting lines

    Eclipse Foundation Establishes New Open Source Compliance Initiative

    The Eclipse Foundation has launched the Open Regulatory Compliance Working Group (ORC WG), dedicated to helping the global open source community navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes.

  • interconnected cloud icons with glowing lines on a gradient blue backdrop

    Report: Cloud Certifications Bring Biggest Salary Payoff

    It pays to be conversant in cloud, according to a new study from Skillsoft The company's annual IT skills and salary survey report found that the top three certifications resulting in the highest payoffs salarywise are for skills in the cloud, specifically related to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Nutanix.

  • abstract representation of a supercomputer with glowing blue and green neon geometric shapes resembling interconnected data nodes on a dark background

    University of Florida Invests in Supercomputer Upgrade for AI, Research

    The University of Florida has announced plans to upgrade its HiPerGator supercomputer with new equipment from Nvidia. The $24 million investment will fuel the institution's leadership in AI and research, according to a news announcement.