CIAA, NJCAA Esports Launch Partnership

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and National Junior College Athletic Association have announced a partnership that will focus on their collective growth while developing esports and gaming across both of their organizations.

This partnership is the first of its kind within the collegiate esports and gaming sector for the CIAA, the nation’s oldest historically Black athletic conference, and the NJCAA, the national governing body for two-year college esports.

“We are extremely excited to partner with NJCAA Esports as we continue to establish our presence within collegiate esports and gaming,” said CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams. “This relationship provides our membership with opportunities to engage two-year students and institutions nationally that are actively participating in collegiate esports while having the potential to directly aid in their efforts to increase enrollment.”

The CIAA and NJCAAE will collaborate on programming geared toward growth within the gaming and esports industry, identifying competitive gaming opportunities among CIAA and NJCAAE institutions and developing relationship and college recruiting pipelines between each associations’ membership. Both organizations, headquartered in the Charlotte area, will also work on an educational network for students through partnered online and community-based outreach programs and content.

“The NJCAAE was founded to create more opportunities for students and member institutions alike,” said Jeff White, executive director of the NJCAAE. “I cannot think of a better win for everyone than through the creation of a recruiting pipeline for our students to the institutions within the historic CIAA.”