KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 5, 2017) – The National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) launches into competition for the first-time in association history with start of the Inaugural NACE Invitational on Monday, April 10. The 16-team round robin-into-single elimination bracket play concludes on Friday, April 21 with the championship final slated to begin at 5 p.m. CDT.

League of Legends is the game title of choice for the association’s first-ever national event, with each match playing to a best of three format. The team with the best record from each of the four pools advances into the elimination bracket.

Teams were seeded by the NACE Competition Council, an elected membership group charged with developing policies and procedures for national competition. The seven-person committee evaluated each team based on past performance and individual ranking for each squad.

Fans can watch competition by clicking the Twitch icon next the desired event on the NACE Invitational webpage at www.battlefy.com/nac-invitational.

2017 NACE Invitational Participating Institutions

Columbia College (Mo.)

Illinois Wesleyan University

Indiana Tech

Kansas Wesleyan University

Lees-McRae College (N.C.)

Maryville University (Mo.)

Miami University (Ohio)

Midland University (Neb.)

Missouri Baptist University

Morningside College (Iowa)

Principia College (Ill.)

Robert Morris University (Ill.)

Southwest Baptist University (Mo.)

University of Pikeville (Ky.)

University of South Carolina-Sumter

Western Kentucky University

NACE is the only association of college and university sponsored eSports programs that promotes the education and development of students through intercollegiate eSports participation and the institutional commitment to support those initiatives.  Members of the association are dedicated to legitimizing collegiate eSports and providing college students the opportunities to live their passion for competitive gaming, while pursuing a quality education.

NACE originated with six founding member institutions – Columbia College, Indiana Institute of Technology, Maryville University, Midland University, Robert Morris University and University of Pikeville – and has expanded to nearly 30 institutions throughout the 2016-17 academic calendar with additional institutions expected to join soon.

For more information on the NACE National Invitational, including schedule and match-by-match results, visit www.nacesports.org/invitational.

About NAC eSports

The National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE) is the only association of college and university sponsored eSports programs that promotes the education and development of students through intercollegiate eSports participation. NACE member schools are dedicated to legitimizing collegiate eSports and providing college students the opportunities to live their passion for competitive gaming while pursuing a quality education.

NACE promotes the education and development of students through intercollegiate eSports participation. Member institutions share a common commitment to high standards in education, and to the principle that participation in organized eSports competition serves as an integral part of the total educational process.

Organizational support and structure for NACE is being provided by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The NAIA has been administering traditional athletics programs and championships in balance with the overall college educational experience since 1937.

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