The Mid-American Conference and its member schools are taking a head-long dive into the future of competition, as the conference and its membership unveiled an esports partnership with the creation of an independent conference on Wednesday morning.
“The creation of Esports Collegiate represents the foresight of our presidents to establish a stand-alone competitive framework for collegiate esports competitors and enthusiasts,” MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said via press release. “I look forward to this organization maturing and growing, facilitating excellent competitive opportunities, fostering teamwork, and providing even more reasons to attend an Esports Collegiate member institution.”
The newly-created conference, called the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC), will begin operation in the 2020-21 academic year, and will feature all 12 MAC members as founding programs.