The Peach Belt Conference and Riot Games announced Thursday that they have partnered to make the NCAA Division II conference the first in the NCAA to compete as part of the College League of Legends season.
The PBC is holding its first College League of Legends regular season competition this month. Eight teams advance to the Peach Belt League of Legends championship, an in-person tournament in March. The champion and runner-up from that tournament will earn spots in the College Championship Play-In starting April 9, with the opportunity to advance to the League of Legends College Championship, held starting June 7 at Riot Games’ NA LCS Arena in Los Angeles.
“This is a monumental day for the Peach Belt Conference and those students at our member schools who have dedicated themselves to making this endeavor a success,” PBC commissioner David R. Brunk said in a statement. “We are very grateful to Riot Games for supporting us and giving us the opportunity to forge a new path for NCAA conferences.
“From the beginning, we understood that this was an opportunity to engage students at our member institutions who had no connection with our conference at all. The Peach Belt Conference has always been about more than athletics; whether it is our spirit competition or art exhibition or any other number of events that expand the boundaries of traditional college athletics. Our Board of Directors along with the vice presidents and vice chancellors for student affairs have been at the forefront of this idea and their leadership has helped make this a reality.”
As the first NCAA Division II conference to hold an esports championship, the PBC had consulted with Riot Games on the first PBC Esports contests that began last fall with a five-week preseason schedule. Seven PBC teams played League of Legends then, and now more teams will be added for the regular season.
Commissioners from the Power Five conference within the NCAA last month expressed plenty of doubts about how esports fits in with college athletics. Riot Games executives were in attendance in New York to hear those thoughts, and they will continue to seek out opportunities.
“2017 was a big year for College League of Legends and this partnership with the Peach Belt paves the way to make 2018 even bigger,” Michael Sherman, who leads Riot’s competitive college program, said in a statement. “This gives players the same competitive experience as athletes in 15 other competitions — a big step toward making League of Legends a sport that lasts for generations.”
The College League of Legends Season in 2018 will have over 300 teams competing in the team-oriented 5v5 online game.
