Next College Student Athlete Adds Esports to Collegiate Recruiting Network

Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), the world’s largest and most successful college athletic recruiting network, today announced the addition of esports to its roster of collegiate sports. Esports is the 34th sport in NCSA’s recruiting network.

“Esports is the fastest growing sport in the world, and universities are rapidly adding varsity programs to their athletic departments as it continues to surge in popularity,” said NCSA President Lisa Strasman. “This growth can make it difficult for student-athletes to identify the right collegiate esports program, and for coaches to fill their rosters. Our platform will ensure the best fit for both esport student-athletes and college coaches.”

NCSA is the official recruiting partner of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), the only institutional association for varsity esports programs in the U.S. NCSA assumes this title from its parent company, Reigning Champs, which established a partnership with NACE in January 2018 when it announced the addition of esports to its BeRecruited platform.

BeRecruited currently hosts over 2,000 esports athlete profiles and is used by 100% of varsity college esports coaches.

“Recruiting for esports has become just as competitive as recruiting for any other collegiate sport,” said NACE Director Michael Brooks. “NCSA will give our member coaches access to an extensive network of student-athletes and help build the best teams for their varsity esport programs.”

Since Robert Morris University Illinois established the first varsity collegiate esports program in 2014, more than 98 universities have joined NACE.  Since its inception, NACE has given over $16 million in scholarships and aid to esport student-athletes by member institutions. NCSA will support all 14 collegiate-supported esports games, including League of Legends and Overwatch. As part of the NCSA recruiting network, esports student athletes will be able to create free recruiting profiles and have access NCSA’s robust network of college coaches. Additionally, collegiate esports coaches from NACE institutions can create a free account to search NCSA’s growing database of esports athletes.

For more information on NCSA esports recruiting, visit www.ncsasports.org/collegeesports-scholarships.