Big Esports Conference for CECC Qualifier
CSMG, Game Arena, and Big Esports Conference Announce First-Ever Live Esports Spring Championship at The Ohio State University and Official Automatic Qualifier into the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup
The winning Big Esports Conference Championship Teams will qualify to Join the 84 Teams Competing in CECC Texas 2024 at Esports Stadium Arlington in May
STAMFORD, CT (March 13, 2024) - Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) announced today that the Big Esports Conference (BEC) will be qualifying schools at the upcoming live championship event at The Ohio State University and Game Arena on April 12-13 with the winners headed to the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup in May. Game Arena will join the event as a presenting sponsor.
The BEC is the esports organizing body for Big Ten Conference member schools that operate or facilitate esports programs. 14 of the 16 member schools participating include Indiana University - Bloomington, University of Iowa, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University, University of California Los Angeles, and University of Wisconsin. This marks the first time these schools will gather at a live event to crown a champion across multiple game titles.
“We’re excited that CSMG and the Big Esports Conference chose to host the inaugural tournament here at The Ohio State University in our cutting-edge Esports Arena. The emergence of these events is a testament to the growing popularity of esports in higher education.” said Dr. John Price, esports manager for The Ohio State University.
“The sponsorship and generosity of these sponsors is a testament to how integral this league has been, and will continue to be to both the fans and the students of these universities,” said Kevin Palmer, assistant director of esports at the University of Michigan. “I’ve seen students excited for a lot of different events in this space, but nothing compares to the excitement that surrounds a LAN with 14 Big Ten Universities, all playing for a spot on the biggest stage in collegiate esports.”
The Big Esports Conference is the first-mover among traditional power conferences into organizing esports across their member schools. The championship event will welcome more than 200 competitors to fight for the title of BEC Tournament Champion, and an automatic qualifying bid for CECC Texas. For fans watching online, they will be able to catch the action at https://www.twitch.tv/esportsu.
“We are thrilled to partner with the BEC and its member institutions to help create the inaugural event and crown their champions” “Thank you to The Ohio State University for hosting this LAN event on the road to CECC Texas.” said Michael Schreck, Chief Executive Officer, for CSMG.
As an official CECC qualifying event, CSMG, ESPORTSU, Esports Foundry and Game Arena will work together to help with sponsorship, broadcast services, logistics and venue operations for the event. The Big Esports Conference Championship will be held at Game Arena and The Ohio State University for the first day and then Game Arena in Columbus, Ohio, for day two. Schools will be competing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Overwatch 2®, Rocket League, and VALORANT.
“This CECC sanctioned BEC Championship supports the vision of EsportsU to help create foundational infrastructure and long term solutions for the competitive and commercial sustainability of college esports. We are proud to partner with this esteemed group of institutions,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer, for CSMG
CECC Texas, is the largest multi-conference gathering of collegiate esports programs taking place on May 3-5, and will expand to 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023) to compete for the coveted Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup. In 2023, CSMG and ESPORTSU welcomed more than 3,000 fans and provided intense competition across the four gaming titles. CECC Texas 2023 was also recently awarded LAN Event of the Year during the inaugural Scholars Awards in Las Vegas, which are in partnership with the Esports Awards.
