Love Esports? Here Are All the Colleges With Esports Teams
Credit: Maskot / DigitalVision / Getty Images- Esports are competitive video games pitting players around the world against each other in tournaments.
- Some of the popular intercollegiate games include “League of Legends,” “Rocket League,” and “Overwatch.”
- Worldwide viewership is also growing on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, helping esports players and teams sign sponsorships.
Esports are growing in popularity at colleges across the country, with institutions such as MiamiUniversity in Ohio and the University of California, Irvine leading the way with varsity programs and even offering scholarships to prospective players.
Esports is a growing video game field pitting players around the world against each other in tournaments featuring games like “Super Smash Bros. Melee,” “League of Legends,” “Valorant,” and even the recently released fighting game “MultiVersus,” where you can play as NBA star LeBron James from “Space Jam.”
While the NCAA does not govern collegiate esports, the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) provide structure and governance for college varsity and club esports teams.
And it doesn’t just involve players. Worldwide viewership is growing on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, helping esports players and teams sign sponsorships.
Think you’re ready to take your esports game to the next level? Check out these colleges and universities leading the way with stellar esports squads.
Colleges in the National Association of Collegiate Esports
Last Updated: September 14, 2022, at 1:45 p.m. EST
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A
- Adrian College
- Albion College
- Albright College
- Ashland University
B
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Barry University
- Barton College
- Bellevue University
- Blinn College
- Boise State University
- Boise State University
- Brewton-Parker College
- Bridgewater College
- Bryant & Stratton College
Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Virginia Beach
- Buena Vista University
- Bushnell University
- Butler University
C
- Camden County College
- Campbellsville University
- Capitol Technology University
- Carolina University
- Central Christian College of Kansas
- Central Michigan University
- Central Penn College
- Chowan University
- Clarke University
- Cleary University
- Coastal Bend College
- Carolina University
- Coffeyville Community College
- Colorado College
- Colorado School of Mines
- Columbia College
- Columbia International University
- Concordia College
- Concordia University
Saint Paul, Seward
- Cornell College
- Cottey College
- County College of Morris
- Culver-Stockton College
D
- Dakota Wesleyan University
- Dallas Baptist University
- Davenport University
- DeSales University
- Dickinson State University
- Drexel University
- Drury University
E
- East Tennessee State University
- Eastern University
- ECPI University
- Edgewood College
F
- Faulkner University
- Ferris State University
- Florida Southern College
- Franklin College of Indiana
- Full Sail University
G
- Gallaudet University
- George Fox University
- George Mason University
- Georgia State University
- Glenville State College
- Grand Valley State University
H
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
- Highland Community College
- Holy Family University
- Howard Payne University
I
- Immaculata University
- Independence Community College
- Indiana Institute of Technology
- Indiana University East
- Iona University
- Irvine Valley College
- Jacksonville State University
J
- Jacksonville State University
- James Madison University
- Junlata College
K
- Kansas State University
- Kansas Wesleyan University
- Kelser University
Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Pembroke Pines, Sarasota
- Kennesaw State University
- Kettering University
- Kilgore College
- King University
L
- Lackawanna College
- Lake Michigan College
- Lakeland University
- Lakeshore Technical College
- Lawrence Technological University
- Lebanon Valley College
- Lindenwood University
- Louisiana State University Shreveport
- Louisiana Tech University
- Lourdes University
- Loyola University New Orleans
- Lubbock Christian University
M
- Manchester University
- Marietta College
- Marymount University
- Messiah College
- Miami Dade College
- Michigan Technological University
- Mid-America Christian University
- Minnesota State University, Mankato
- Misericordia University
- Missouri Baptist University
- Missouri State University
- Mohave Community College
- Montgomery County Community College
- Mount Aloysius College
- Mount Saint Mary College
- Mount St. Joseph University
N
- Neumann University
- Neumont College of Computer Science
- Nicholls State University
- Nichols College
- North Central University
- North Dakota State College of Science
- Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
- Northeastern State University
- Northeastern University
- Northern Kentucky University
- Northpoint Bible College
- Northwest State Community College
- Northwood University
O
- Oakland University
- Ohio Christian University
- Oklahoma City University
- Old Dominion University
- Oral Roberts University
- Ozarks Technical Community College
P
- Pennsylvania College of Technology
- PennWest University – Edinboro
- Point Park University
- Presbyterian College
- Principia College
- Purdue Fort Wayne University
- Purdue University Northwest
Q
- Quinnipiac University
R
- Radford University
- Randolph-Macon College
- Ringling College
- Roanoke College
- Robert Morris University
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rochester University
- Rollins College
S
- Saint Francis University
- Saint Leo University
- Saint Xavier University
- Salve Regina College
- Seton Hill University
- Shawnee State University
- Shenandoah University
- Siena Heights University
- Simpson College
- Southeastern Illinois College
- Southeastern University
- Southern Arkansas University
- Southern Virginia University
- Southwest Minnesota State University
- Spoon River College
- Spring Hill College
- St. Ambrose University
- St. Andrews University
- St. Edward’s University
- St. Lawrence University
- Stone Child College
- Stony Brook University
T
- Talladega College
- Tennessee Wesleyan University
- Texas A&M International University
- Texas A&M San Antonio
- Texas Wesleyan University
- Thomas College
- Transylvania University
- Truett McConnell University
- Tusculum University
U
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- University of Central Missouri
- University of Central Oklahoma
- University of Central Cincinnati
- University of Central Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
- University of Jamestown
- University of Kansas
- University of Maryland
- University of Michigan – Flint
- University of Mississippi
- University of Missouri
- University of Missouri – Kansas City
- University of New Haven
- University of North Dakota
- University of Providence
- University of South Carolina Sumter
- University of Southern Mississippi
- University of St. Francis
- University of the Cumberlands
- University of West Georgia
- University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
- University of Wisconsin – River Falls
- University of North Texas at Dallas
- University of South Carolina Lancaster
- Utica University
V
- Virginia Wesleyan University
- Viterbo University
W
- Wagner College
- Waldorf University
- Washburn University
- Wayland Baptist University
- Wayne State University
- Waynesburg University
- West Virginia University
- West Virginia University Institute of Technology
- West Virginia University Potomac State College
- Westcliff University
- Western Kentucky University
- Wichita State University
- Widener University
Y
- York College of Pennsylvania
- York County Community College
Data provided by membership page of NAC Esports and NCJAA.
The NCAA Has No Plans to Govern Esports
On April 30, 2019, the NCAA unanimously voted to indefinitely table governing collegiate esports at a board of governors meeting after an 18-month study, according to the Sports Business Journal.
The announcement came five months after NCAA President Mark Emmert sat down to discuss the growing presence of esports during his “State of College Sports” interview at the 2018 Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
Emmert said he was aware of game publishers like “League of Legends” hosting collegiate tournaments. There had been questions on whether the NCAA would create a structure for intercollegiate esports.
“It’s an interesting question, and it begs a whole number of things,” said Emmert. “How does it square with traditional athletic activities?”
Emmert said that esports is male-dominated, creating diversity, equity, and inclusion issues under Title IX. He also said some games’ violent, misogynistic, and hypersexualized content creates problems for university group affiliation.
The Largest Esports Governing Bodies for Colleges and Universities
While the NCAA does not govern intercollegiate esports, the NACE and the NJCAAE are the two largest governing bodies.
The NACE, formed in 2016, is the largest college and university member esports association in the U.S., with over 170 member schools, 5,000 student-athletes, and $16 million in esports scholarships and aid.
The NJCAAE is a governing body for two-year college esports. It is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Most Popular Games in College Esports
The most popular games for U.S. NACE schools are “League of Legends,” a real-time strategy game; “Rocket League,” a car-soccer sports game; “Overwatch,” a team first-person shooter game, and “Super Smash Bros.,” a party fighting game.