Update: In a statement to The Esports Advocate on Thursday, a PlayVS representative said that the sentence in our story noting that the company had already signed “deals with more than 1,000 campuses in North America” was incorrect and created some confusion.
To be fair, the copy in the release said:
“PlayVS Expands Collegiate Esports Platform to 1,000+ Campuses for the 2025–2026 Season. “
The representative added that: “This is based on the former Playfly College Esports footprint (acquired in April) which already supported students from over 900 unique colleges globally, and PlayVS organic growth.”
TEA apologizes for our part in any confusion caused to the community.
Original Story: North American scholastic and collegiate esports company PlayVS announced Wednesday the launch of a new league aimed at collegiate esports called PlayVS College League (PCL).
PlayVS hopes that this new league will prove to be transformative for collegiate esports, and has already signed deals with more than 1,000 campuses in North America for the 2025–2026 season. The company is still negotiating with some existing conferences from what we understand, the company is still negotiating with interested parties.
PCL aims to “build the most comprehensive academic esports ecosystem, supporting students from middle school through college and opening doors to career-aligned opportunities in broadcast, management, and media.” according to today’s announcement. Further, PCL promises to give college students a competitive platform with no roster caps, per-seat fees, or team limits, and will offer competitions in 17 competitive titles from top publishers and developers.
Some of the colleges that have officially signed on to the league include Alvernia University, Columbia College, Cumberland University, Fisher College, Harrisburg University, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Jose State University, Stony Brook University, Syracuse University, the University of Akron, the University of Maryland, the University of South Florida, and Virginia Tech.
The league will also equip participating colleges with various tools to boost participation, track player performance and provide statistics to coaching staff, build their communities, and more. National playoffs for the Fall & Spring seasons will culminate in LAN events and PCL will provide travel stipends for qualifying teams, according to the company.
“This is more than just the launch of a league – it’s about setting a new standard for collegiate esports,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS. “By creating a unified competitive pipeline from middle school to college, we’re powering gameplay and helping shape gamers’ futures. The PCL gives students an opportunity to grow, lead, and build a community, while offering schools a platform that rivals the professionalism and structure of traditional athletics.”
The move to create a full-blown, collegiate esports league for North America (United States and parts of America) makes sense considering that PlayVS acquired PlayFly Esports and Generation Esports back in April; Generation Esports was the owner of scholastic esports leagues High School Esports League (HSEL) and Middle School Esports League (MSEL), while Playfly Esports was the collegiate esports arm of collegiate sports company Playfly. With these acquisitions PlayVS added entire scholastic esports and collegiate esports ecosystems to its existing suite of offerings in North America.