Creating Recruiting Networks between High Schools and Colleges

KANSAS CITY, MO (February 27, 2018) – The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with the High School Esports League (HSEL).

HSEL is a high school league that provides high school level competition across thirteen different games and has over 5,800 students participating.  The partnership between NACE and HSEL will create a stronger path for high school esports athletes to move into the collegiate ranks as scholarship athletes. Coaches and esports directors at NACE member colleges and universities will gain access to HSEL’s Discord server in order to communicate directly to students interested in competing in college.  Additionally HSEL will work to promote the free utilization of NACE’s recruitment platform through BeRecruited for all of its users.

“Our partnership is an important step in laying down the foundation of streamlined recruitment from the high school space to the collegiate. We are seeing an explosive growth in the number of colleges launching varsity esports programs and those programs need qualified students.  But this coming August our data shows expected esports scholarships from NACE member institutions to be close to $20 million.  These college programs and scholarships represent real opportunities for students to gain quality educations while competing in the games they love.   They greatest hurdle preventing this though is a lack of information on both sides.  By working with HSEL, and organizations like it, we will be able to educate directly to students.  Education here is the first step, activating comes next where we hope to run recruiting events for students and our coaches directly,” said Michael Brooks, NACE Executive Director.

“We see this partnership as a major benefit to our students.  With NACE creating a more stable and legitimate environment in collegiate esports, it opens up so many more opportunities to our partner clubs.  Esports recruiting is currently a large pain point for many universities, so together we are taking steps to create a more accessible and organized pathway from high school to college. Along with our GPA requirement we can educate our students on preparations for college admissions, and in turn provide these universities with college ready esports athletes.” Mason Mullenioux stated, the CEO of HSEL.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGIATE ESPORTS (NACE)

The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) is a nonprofit membership association organized by and on behalf of our member institutions and is the only governing body of college esports in North America. Together, our members are developing the structure and tools needed to advance collegiate eSports in the varsity space. We are collaborating to lay the groundwork in areas such as: Eligibility, Path to Graduation, and Competition & Scholarships. NACE currently has 67 varsity esports programs as members, accounting for nearly all (94%) varsity programs across North America.

ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL ESPORTS LEAGUE (HSEL)

The High School Esports League (HSEL) is the league administrator to a network of high schools competing in 13 gaming titles across North America.  As the leader in the high school space, we work with clubs to establish, improve, and grow their programs to create a solid foundation for healthy competition.  HSEL also helps students in their scholastic life by providing scholarships and connections that further their esports careers.  HSEL currently has 475 partner clubs, making it the largest league in North America.