NASEF and NACE Partner on Student Esports Initiatives

The North America Scholastic Esports Federation has announced a partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Esports to provide more opportunities for high school and college students through esports.

As part of the agreement, the two sides have agreed to cooperate on a number of initiatives, including:

• Recruitment: The sides will cooperate to build a pipeline from high school play at NASEF schools to collegiate play at NACE schools.

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• Scholarships: Scholarships will be awarded to NASEF participants to be applied at NACE colleges; over $16 million in scholarships already exist from NACE member universities, with new Beyond the Game academic scholarships to be jointly sourced.
• Events: The sides will work to promote championship events that connect high school and college students (post-COVID) by aligning game title selection, seasons and venues for large-scale fall and spring events.
• Education: NASEF and NACE will work to educate students, teachers, coaches and families on opportunities to develop knowledge and skills through an academic approach to esports.
• Job Tracks: There will be initiatives and joint educational programming to raise awareness of the education and career opportunities found in esports.

“Thousands of high schoolers participate in NASEF’s esports clubs, tournaments, and learning events. This partnership will create strong connections between NASEF member students and colleges that are seeking top esports students and players,” said Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of NASEF. “Until recently, esports has been a fledgling event in many school environments, but we’re seeing robust growth across the nation as schools adopt our play-and-learning combination that builds life and career skills. This partnership with NACE will now provide youth with the ability to better connect with relevant colleges and gain insight into opportunities for scholarships and quality education.”

“The connection between high school players and college recruiters is vital. This partnership is an important step in connecting the two,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of NACE. “Esports encompasses far more than the players themselves as colleges look for shoutcasters, team managers, audio and video engineers, marketers and more. The partnership between NACE and NASEF will also help students identify educational opportunities to prepare them for their careers of choice in the esports industry, which Newzoo predicts will hit $1.8 billion by 2022. We’re helping students prepare to participate in that enormous and growing market.”