Eastern Conference Esports Grows to 57 Schools

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has grown to 57 esports member institutions, double the number the sports association had last year. The latest universities to join were Syracuse and Seton Hall. ECAC is an inter-collegiate organization that sponsors championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the country.

This year the ECAC is sponsoring competition in nine different esports: Fortnite, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Hearthstone, FIFA, Rocket League, Madden NFL and Overwatch.

ECAC reported that it would sponsor women's leagues in addition to its co-ed leagues and alumni esports leagues for the first time this year. Also, by year's end, the Conference expected to name its first "ECAC Esports Grand Champion," a recognition bestowed on the school that can claim the best across-the-board success in all games over the course of the year.

The Conference runs two seasons of competition, one in fall (which began this year during the week of Sep. 30) and one in the spring. It also hosts the ECAC Esports Championships at HV Gamer Con in Albany in early April.

"We're thrilled with the continuing progress of ECAC Esports," said ECAC CEO, Dan Coonan, in a statement. "Our growth in just two and half years has been remarkable. We anticipate even bigger numbers for competition in our spring leagues. Our Esports Director, Lydia Fister, has done a spectacular job overseeing the logistics and managing the meteoric growth of this program."

"We look forward to capitalizing on this growth and working with our current partners as well as creating new relationships with endemic and non-endemic esports brands, as ECAC Esports and traditional sports platforms continue to expand and attract sponsors," added Ray Katz, chief operating officer of Collegiate Sports Management Group, which represents the ECAC for its commercial interests.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • laptop with a neural network image, surrounded by books, notebooks, a magnifying glass, a pencil cup, and a desk lamp

    D2L Lumi AI Updates Add Personalized Study Supports

    Learning platform D2L has announced new artificial intelligence features for D2L Lumi that help provide more personalized study supports for students.

  • three glowing stacks of tech-themed icons

    Research: LLMs Need a Translation Layer to Launch Complex Cyber Attacks

    While large language models have been touted for their potential in cybersecurity, they are still far from executing real-world cyber attacks — unless given help from a new kind of abstraction layer, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Anthropic.

  • young man in a denim jacket scans his phone at a card reader outside a modern glass building

    Colleges Roll Out Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US has announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campuswide. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.