PLANO, Texas and
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Learfield IMG College, the nation's leading media and technology
services company in intercollegiate athletics, and Electronic Arts
(NASDAQ: EA) a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment,
announced Level Next, The College Esports League. This multiyear
partnership between Learfield IMG College and EA will feature at
least one of EA's esports franchises and acts as the official home
for EA's collegiate esports champions. Level Next will be the
largest intercollegiate esports league, supporting more than 2,500
schools, and will also be the first supported by official school
branding.
Level Next kicks off first with the Fall Champions Series
featuring EA SPORTS Madden NFL 21. Competition begins on
November 9, with registration open to
all college students currently attending a four-year accredited
university. The competition will follow an eight-week format
comprising a regular season, playoffs and a championship, where one
talented team will become a national champion for their school. The
Fall Champions Series will have the largest-ever collegiate esports
cash prize pool -- $150,000, more
than $30,000, which will be awarded
directly to campus esports programs through a social marketing
competition.
[Please CLICK HERE to Register]
"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," said Cole
Gahagan, Learfield IMG College President & CEO. "Given
their unmatched track record of innovation and game marketing,
Electronic Arts is the absolute perfect partner to join us in this
historic launch, tapping into 1.5 million students, and delivering
an entirely new experience to over 185 million nationwide college
sports fans."
Level Next marks the first esports ecosystem that integrates the
best of college fandom through an easy-to-follow, centralized
format. This league structure is primed to accelerate collegiate
esports growth by unifying competitive play for all college
students and, for the first time, allows students to officially
represent their schools on the road to a national championship.
Level Next will host multiple seasons each year and feature various
competitive game titles from different publishers.
"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, SVP and GM of EA
Competitive Gaming Entertainment. "By leveraging EA's decades of
experience at the intersection of traditional sports and esports,
and Learfield IMG College's unprecedented scale and position as the
official rights holder for more than 200 universities and
conferences, this collaboration will establish a much-needed
structure within the collegiate esports ecosystem and help
accelerate Madden NFL competitive gaming popularity."
"It is great to see Learfield IMG College and EA come together
to launch a very impressive esports tournament," said Dr. Chris
"Doc" Haskell, Boise State College
Esports Coach of the Year. "This is a new era for collegiate
esports, and the scale of this program will only accelerate its
momentum across the country."
The Level Next Fall Champions Series matches and weekly
programming will be broadcast on its official Twitch channel and
website, with additional outlets and locations to be announced
later. Registration is open now for enrolled students across the
participating campuses nationwide. For more information on the
official rules and registration details, please visit
http://www.levelnextesports.com/.
About Learfield IMG College
Learfield IMG
College is the leading media and technology services company
in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of
college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform
with innovative content and commerce solutions for fan engagement.
The Learfield IMG College suite of services includes licensing and
multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and
social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and
professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business
and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems.
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, the
company has long had the privilege of being an advocate for
intercollegiate athletics and the student-athlete experience. Since
2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield
IMG College Directors' Cup, supporting athletic departments across
all divisions.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is
a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company
develops and delivers games, content and online services for
Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal
computers.
In fiscal year 2020, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for
a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as EA
SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Apex Legends™, The Sims™, Madden NFL,
Need for Speed™, Titanfall™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More
information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.
EA SPORTS, Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Need for Speed,
Titanfall and Plants vs. Zombies are trademarks of Electronic Arts
Inc. Madden, NFL and FIFA are properties of their respective owners
and used with permission.
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SOURCE Learfield IMG College