MAAC Partners with Riot Games, Introduces New Opportunity for Postseason Play
EDISON, NJ (Nov. 7, 2019) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced its new partnership with Riot Games, creating an automatic bid for the 2020 College League of Legends Tournament.
“The MAAC is thrilled to announce this new partnership with the Riot Scholastic Association,” said Kiernan Ensor, MAAC Esports Director. “This new partnership will allow the MAAC member schools to play League of Legends in the Riot Games ecosystem, while still maintaining the MAAC rivalries that we have come to know and love.”
Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends, have included the MAAC in the involvement of the Riot Scholastic Association of America. The mission of Riot Games is to foster the development of gaming as a meaningful and complementary part of high school and college experiences.
"The MAAC has done incredible work aligning their schools around Esports to build support for their students in the upcoming season,” said Michael Sherman, Head of College at the Riot Scholastic Association. “This partnership marks another major Division I athletic conference taking the plunge into League of Legends, and we couldn't be more thrilled that it's the MAAC."
With the addition of Esports to the MAAC, this new partnership will allow student-athletes the opportunity to participate in the 2020 College League of Legends Tournament, where they will compete to receive national recognition and scholarship opportunities. An automatic bid to the tournament will be awarded to the winning team of League of Legends in this year’s inaugural Esports Championship. Since the introduction of the College Championship in 2014, Riot Games has distributed more than $2,800,000 in scholarships to hundreds of students across North America.
“This automatic qualifier is yet another step in the continuing evolution of Esports and the MAAC’s commitment to ensuring students on our campuses are provided outstanding competitive opportunities,” said Canisius College Director of Athletics Bill Maher. “Having the MAAC Champion represent our conference in this national championship event is the first of what we hope to be an experience afforded all of our Esports participants.”
The College League of Legends Championship will take place after the MAAC Esports Championship. The championship will feature a 32-team bracket, giving out more than 190 scholarships.
“Marist is very excited about the terrific competitive opportunities that the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has provided for our Esports student-athletes,” said Marist College Director of Athletics Tim Murray. “The automatic qualification to the Riot Games allows our student-athletes to challenge themselves against some of the top talent playing League of Legends.”
MAAC member institutes will complete in round robin conference play beginning in January 2020. This competition will provide the seeding for the MAAC League of Legends Championship. Schedules will be announced in December.
In the partnership with the MAAC, Riot will also provide tournament operation management services during the regular season and conference playoffs. This includes bracket and schedule generation according to the conference Schedule, roster management tools, access to stats and match history, and in-game behavior and eligibility checks.
The first official MAAC Esports Championship will take place March 13-14 during the MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament in the Adrian Phillips Theater at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The 2020 MAAC Esports Championship will feature tournaments in four different game titles: League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and SuperSmash Bros. Ultimate.
Stay up to date on all MAAC Esports action by following the new MAAC Esports Twitter account @MAACEsports.
About the Riot Scholastic Association of America:
Formed by Riot Games in 2019, the Riot Scholastic Association of America serves as the governing body for College and High School League of Legends in the U.S. and Canada. The RSAA team supports the RSAA Advisory Board - a team of external authorities from college sports and esports - to grow and refine college esports.
League of Legends is the largest and most developed college esport in North America. 354 schools participated in 2019, with more than 250 offering some form of official support, ranging from practice facilities to coaches and scholarships. For more information on the RSAA, visit
https://rsaa.riotgames.com/
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.