CSMG • Press Release – updated: Jan 18, 2021
New York, NY – The continued growth of Collegiate Sports Management’s esports platform continues
with the announcement that the Florida State University esports program will become a member of
ECAC Esports beginning in the Spring of 2021. In addition, another ACC power, Wake Forest Esports
will be participating in the Collegiate Esports National Championship (CENC) in Raleigh, NC. The
4-day championship event will take place April 29 – May 2, 2021 at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Florida State joins the ECAC, the only true collegiate governing body of esports. Under the leadership
of Dan Coonan, ECAC Esports now boasts over 80 members across all college divisions, with
continued expansion into Division I and the Power 5/65 schools. CSMG’s Director of Media and
Property Partnerships, Dan Girard, helped facilitate this membership agreement for the ECAC.
Wake Forest Esports will be competing in the CENC, which offers bids to all colleges with an esports
program. Play-in tournaments hosted and operated by CSMG will take place in March 2021 for
qualification for the CENC. The National Championship event will include corporate sponsorship
opportunities, an esports competition for the benefit of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, an HBCU
Technology Fair, and other events featuring NFL alumni.
Neil Malvone, EVP-Partnerships and Chief Esports Officer at CSMG stated, “The CENC is already
shaping up to be the collegiate esports event of the year as more collegiate esports programs from all
Divisions look to earn the chance to play for the true collegiate esports national championship.”
About the Collegiate Esports National Championship
The CENC is a collegiate esports tournament played from April 29-May 2, 2021, featuring 48
collegiate esports teams from across the entire collegiate esports landscape. The CENC is fully
inclusive as participants will include members of the ECAC and the NJCAAE, the only true governing
bodies for collegiate esports at the 4-year and 2-year levels, respectively. Additionally, automatic bids
will be awarded to conference champions during their play-in tournaments in March. The remainder
of the CENC championship brackets will be rounded out by at-large berths.
About ECAC Esports
The ECAC is an 82-year-old organization with over 200 member schools across all NCAA Divisions.
ECAC Esports is growing and now totals more than 70 colleges and universities and is expanding the
geographic footprint for the conference nationally. ECAC’s Esports program provides and activates
intercollegiate esports competitions for colleges across the country. For more information about your
school joining ECAC and competing in the collegiate national esports championships visit
https://ecacsports.com/
About Collegiate Sports Management Group
CSMG is a College Sports Properties Group that drives the business performance of college athletic
conferences and schools, providing them with a successful growth strategy, and generating revenue to
support their athletic department and initiatives. CSMG specializes in Marketing Rights/Revenue
Generation, Content Creation & Distribution, Media Rights Strategy & Negotiation, Sponsorship
Sales, Name Image and Likeness Solutions, Licensing, Event Production & Management, Ticketing
and Esports. Visit www.collegiatesmg.com for more info.