Since Robert Morris University became the first school in 2014 to launch a varsity League of Legends  program and offer scholarships for gamers, ambitious colleges and athletic conferences have looked for opportunities to bring esports to their students. We wanted to share some updates regarding athletic conferences and their role in future college seasons.

New Conferences

We’re excited to share that the East Coast Conference (ECC) will also introduce League of Legends as a sport and host their own seasons as well, in 2019 and 2020.  In addition, the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) will be bringing three more seasons of College League of Legends to their players in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons.

Starting next January, schools from both conferences will compete in their own respective conferences in a regular season, before advancing into their own conference championships. Each conference will then qualify their champion and finalist into the League of Legends College Championship play-in where they can battle against other top schools for a chance to compete in the championship. More information can be found on their websites (PBC, ECC).

We are working hard to continue expanding League of Legends into additional athletic conferences and are excited to have these two on board for future seasons!

Conference Strength update

Due to their success in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Big Ten Network has earned an automatic berth into the 2019 League of Legends College Championship, replacing the South regional conference.

As a quick refresher, every year conferences are ranked based on their postseason performance from the last two years. Schools earn points for their conference by qualifying for the College Championship and earn additional points for each round they win. Conferences that rank in the top four receive an automatic berth into the College Championship, meaning their conference champions get to skip the play-in phase of playoffs.

With both Illinois and Maryland advancing to the College Championship semifinals this year and the South failing to make it out of quarters the last two years, the Big Ten Network has secured their spot into the top four giving them an autoberth into the 2019 College Championship.

Looking for more information on the 2019 season? Keep an eyes on lolesports.com to get the latest updates, including additional conference announcements, schedules, and registration updates!