Villanova Wins 2025 Big East Conference Rocket League Championship, Earns Conference’s First Bid to CECC May Madness
Stamford, CT – March 19, 2025 – The Big East Conference finished its 2025 season and Villanova University’s Rocket League team earned the conference’s first bid to the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) in history.
CECC May Madness, established in 2022, gives 84 teams in four different game titles (Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Valorant, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) and 12 players in Street Fighter 6, a chance to face other schools from across North America and one team or player in each game are crowned as national champions.
The Big East Conference held its regular season for Rocket League between Jan. 21-Feb. 20 and included teams from Villanova University, DePaul University, St. John’s University, and Creighton University. The top four teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament, with the champion earning the conference’s first bid to CECC May Madness.
“CSMG and EsportsU are extremely excited and grateful to have such a fine athletic and academic institution such as Villanova University add esports to its repertoire” said Ray Katz, Chief Operating officer of CSMG and EsportsU. “Adding an Automatic Qualifier from a blue chip conference like the Big East” is equally gratifying.”
In the first round of the conference playoffs, Villanova acquired the first seed and defeated the fourth seed Creighton in a 4-0 series sweep, while DePaul, who earned the second seed, defeated third seed St. John’s 4-2. In the championship match, Villanova would defeat DePaul in a 4-1 series.
“We feel honored to be the ones to represent our conference at CECC,” said Charlie Hune, captain for the Rocket League team at Villanova. “Historically our conference hasn’t been given the most respect, but we are hoping to finally put the Big East on the collegiate Rocket League map. Win or lose, getting to compete at a tournament like [CECC] is a once in a lifetime opportunity; so we are just going to embrace the moment and enjoy it as much as we can.”
With the victory, Villanova earned their bid to CECC May Madness 2025, set to take place May 2-4 at Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas, renowned as the largest in-person scholastic esports event in North America. The 2024 event attracted over 4 million views and 4,100 attendees, and the upcoming 2025 event marks the fifth year of CECC's celebration of collegiate esports excellence.
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Article Written by:
Keegan Ohta
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