NACE Convention Maps out Future of eSports

ECPI University Honored with Leadership Roles

Representatives from more than 120 colleges and universities, including ECPI University, recently met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) annual convention. Amazingly, just three years ago, NACE was little more than an idea with merit. Now with more than 150 members and growing, this convention focused primarily on shaping the rules that will govern the group going forward. The goal is to create an organization that serves eSports much the same way the NCAA does for other athletic pursuits. Still, NACE leadership is proceeding with caution. Not wanting to mimic the NCAA, it is determined to create a system of governance that accommodates the unique needs of eSports.

Chesney Salle is vice president of membership value and governance for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the organization that helped create NACE. "When you're coming at it from 80 years' or 100 years' worth of history and rules, you're also confined by all of those rules that have been established over time," said Sallee in an article published by ESPN. "That's actually kind of the fun part: NACE gets to build it in a way that works. You learn from the good and the bad of all those other things we've seen in the NCAA and NAIA.

“I think there are a lot of exciting things to come for NACE," Sallee said. "I'm excited, frankly, at this point, now that we have these rules and government structure in place, that it's going to be a much more collaborative process of NACE members and NACE national office staff coming together to figure out what those next steps are. They've got the expertise. They see how these rules apply on their campus, to their students."

During the convention, members voted to establish a new board of directors and competition committee, with ECPI University Athletic Director Mike Glover, being elected to the former and Head Coach JJ Myers to the latter. “We are in the infancy stages of collegiate eSports, every decision made by NACE will a have long lasting and profound impact on collegiate eSports,” says Glover. “I see being a part of the Board of Directors for NACE as not only an honor and a privilege, but also an obligation."

One of the board’s first priorities is to create an EEC (Eligibility Enforcement Committee) who will then create and enforce an “intent to compete letter” and the establishment of rules to prevent player poaching between schools. For the time being, enforcement is going to be tricky. "We don't have the hammer," said NACE Director Michael Brooks in the ESPN article. "That's the problem everyone has right now. ... I don't have the silver bullet for it, but nobody does."

As eSports and NACE continues to grow and evolve, so will ECPI University’s program. Just a little more than a year old, the Rams of ECPI University have expanded from the Virginia Beach campus to include Newport News and Richmond. And there’s more to come. So, please join us as we cheer them on to even greater success. Go Rams!

Do you always go for the high score? If you'd like to learn more about the ECPI University Rams or find out how to join the team, visit us online and apply through our online portal.  

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