DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced today the formal sponsorship of intercollegiate Esports competitions beginning Fall 2018. The ECAC Esports league will consist of organized, competitive gaming in League of Legends, FIFA, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Fortnite.

In addition to the online tournaments, the ECAC Esports Championship will be held at the Albany Capital Center in March 2019. The ECAC will once again partner with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to sponsor an Esports Expo around the Championship. Marist College captured the inaugural ECAC Esports Championship last year after facing Siena College in the final match.

“The ECAC is uniquely situated to be an ideal home for intercollegiate Esports competitions,” said ECAC President/CEO Dan Coonan.  “With so many members, we’ve had no trouble gathering teams to fill out brackets in these tournaments, and that will only get easier as intercollegiate Esports keeps rapidly expanding.  Additionally, since so much of this is conducted online, we can have members from outside of our traditional geographic footprint participate as well.”

The ECAC has served its members for the last 80 years offering post season opportunities for student-athletes. This year it will expand beyond its traditional sports to further the Esports initiative. The ECAC plans to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the membership by coordinating with institutions that sponsor Esports on the type of events that will be offered, including League of Legends, FIFA, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Fortnite.

Any institution that is interested in participating in the ECAC Esports fall tournaments, should contact Dan Coonan at [email protected] or 203-745-2790 as soon as possible. League competition will begin September 17.


ABOUT THE ECAC
Established in 1938, the ECAC is the nation’s largest Conference, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. The ECAC hosts numerous championships in men’s and women’s sports across Divisions I, II and III, offering opportunities for thousands of student-athletes. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.

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