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BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Director of Athletics Debbie DeJong announced the addition of esports as a sponsored varsity program at LIU Post. The Pioneers will compete in the East Coast Conference which will sponsor two seasons of the sport for the first time in 2019 and 2020.
 
"We are extremely excited to provide a unique opportunity for our students to be a part of our athletic community," commented DeJong. "Collegiate esports is evolving into one of the fastest growing programs in the country, and we believe that this is a great time for us to join the movement. The addition of esports will allow for our students to have a designated space on campus to compete and socialize among their peers."
 
The ECC announced this week that it will introduce League of Legends as a sponsored sport for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The conference will compete in the Riot Games' College League of Legends which boasts more than 70 varsity collegiate programs across North America.
 
"The East Coast conference is excited to be partnering with League of Legends and Riot Games as we move into the world of collegiate esports. We look forward to hosting our first season of League of Legends play in spring 2019 culminating in our championship tournament. And we are also looking to partnering with our NCAA DII colleagues at the Peach Belt conference to offer some conference crossover play as well. Working with Riot Games, we believe we will be able to offer a great experience to our ECC teams," said Dr. Robert Dranoff, ECC Commissioner.
 
Beginning in January 2019, schools will participate in regular season competition before advancing into conference tournament play. The top two finishers from the conference will qualify for the League of Legends College Championship Play-In where they will compete against the top schools in the country for the collegiate title.
 
About College League of Legends
College League of Legends is made of up of more than 500 student run clubs, 300 competitive teams, and more than 70 varsity esports programs on college campuses across North America. Since its first college tournament in 2014, Riot Games has been at the forefront of the college esports – doling out more than $1 million in scholarships this year. For 2018 season, Riot and the Big Ten Network awarded nearly $500,000 in scholarship money, furthering educational opportunities for their players.