CECC Welcomes 18 Conference Champions
CECC’s “May Madness” Welcomes 18 Conference Champions to Compete in the Largest Scholastic Esports Festival Globally
State Farm, U.S. Army 5th Brigade, Smoothie King, along with several other partners join McDonald’s of North Texas to engage with players and fans
STAMFORD, CT (April 15, 2024) - Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) announced today its Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas presented by McDonald’s will welcome a record breaking 18 conference champions to the largest scholastic esports festival globally, taking place on May 3-5 at Esports Stadium Arlington. The “May Madness” event will have 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023) to compete for prize pools and coveted trophies across Overwatch 2®, Rocket League, VALORANT, and Gen E SMASH.
McDonald’s, State Farm, U.S. Army 5th Brigade, Smoothie King, CTRL, Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Apple Music and Zipchair Gaming, among others will be activating and engaging with the 800+ competitors and thousands of fans expected to attend in person and watch online. Attendees onsite can receive a personalized dog tag from the U.S. Army, sample Smoothie King beverages, sample CTRL meal replacement shakes, and compete and lounge in Zipchair seats and couches throughout the arena.
CECC Texas will also welcome Dairy MAX, Dallas Cowboys GAMETIME powered by Lenovo, Cisco, Red Bull, PC Gamerz, Cirkul, Grand Canyon University, iSlide, and U.S. Army ROTC, who will be activating throughout the event.
“We are extremely proud that students from across the country have made CECC the ultimate destination to compete in the biggest scholastic event of the year,” said Michael Schreck, Chief Executive Officer for CSMG. “ Our team is focused on delivering a world class experience in Texas for the players, fans, and brand partners as we continue the mission of growing scholastic esports “
The participating conferences include the: Atlantic Coast Esports Conference, Big Esports Conference, Big Sky Conference, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, East Coast Conference, Great Lakes Esports Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference, Mid-American Conference, Mid-Atlantic Esports Conference, Mid-South Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, National Esports Collegiate Conferences, National Junior College Athletics Association Esports, Peach Belt Conference, Southeastern Esports League, and Western Cactus League.
“When we started to build CECC to solidify the collegiate esports ecosystem, we created alliances and partnerships to make it equitable for everyone,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer, for CSMG. “CECC welcomes all college students who want to compete, but also foster the next generation of leaders in esports and gaming.”
The Road to Texas continued on April 12-13 with the Big Esports Conference (BEC) live championship event at The Ohio State University and Game Arena with teams punching tickets to CECC Texas, including Purdue University (VALORANT), Indiana University (Rocket League), Michigan State University (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), and the University of Maryland (Overwatch 2) . The BEC is the esports organizing body for Big Ten Conference member schools that operate or facilitate esports programs. This marked the first time these schools gathered at a live event to crown a champion across multiple game titles. The Atlantic Coast Esports Conference held its Rocket League championship online on April 13 with Syracuse University advancing to CECC Texas as well. Fans can watch all CECC competitions on ESPORTSU’s Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/esportsu.
In 2023, CSMG 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.
