VAN WAGNER & MAINLINE LAUNCH NEW 8-CONFERENCE COLLEGIATE ESPORTS INVITATIONAL

Van Wagner and eight of its NCAA conference partners are launching the Collegiate Esports Invitational. 

An online-only Rocket League event, it is open to any enrolled student in a member school of the America East Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Southland Conference, Sun Belt Conference, West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference.

Registration is open until 1 February at vanwagner.mainline.gg.

Van Wagner has partnered with esports tournament software and management company, Mainline, to stage the event, which will see each conference play host to a single-elimination qualifying tournament from 2-5 February. Two finalists from each conference will then advance to the Collegiate Esports Invitational Championship tournament on 6-7 February, making up the 16-team championship bracket. 

The finals of each conference, and the entire Collegiate Esports Invitational Championship bracket, will be carried on Van Wagner’s official Twitch channel, with Rocket League expert Trevor Hannah (aka DudeWithTheNose) leading the team of shoutcasters. 

The entire event will be produced remotely, and matches will be played across Playstation, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox. 

All of the participating conferences are partnered with Van Wagner, which exclusively manages their respective multimedia rights. Van Wagner will be securing corporate sponsorships for these events as part of year-round efforts with each respective conference.

Mainline’s white-labeled tournament software enables Van Wagner to brand the tournament and feature its exclusive conference marks and intellectual property rights. The tournament’s site provides brands an opportunity to connect with student participants through a new esports vertical. 

Discussing the event Van Wagner Executive Vice President, Mike Palisi, said:

“This initiative is the result of almost a year of planning with our internal team as well as several of our NCAA conference partners. This is the first of several esports tournaments that we will look to execute annually as our industry and the priorities of our partners continue to evolve. 

“We are excited to work with Mainline on our 1st event which will be open to any of the 1.2 million students enrolled in the 88 member schools of our participating conferences and allow for deeper student engagement from our Conference partners and our corporate clients.”

While Mainline CEO, Chris Buckner, added:

“Rocket League is a great title to kick off this tournament and we’re excited to bring our expertise in partnership with Van Wagner to a tournament that players have come to know and expect from our team and partners.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The US collegiate scene is crucial to catalysing the mainstream adoption of esports, and securing long-term sustainable growth, so it’s fantastic to see a company like Van Wagner, which has been connecting brands to sports for more than twenty years, invest in the space. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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