Southwest Michigan Esports League Information

What are esports?

Esports are competitive team video games that have become a billion-dollar professional sporting industry.  Live streaming viewership rivals the Superbowl in total viewers and in-person spectating sells out sporting arenas.  Colleges and universities have taken notice and are forming teams and building esports focused arenas. 200 of them have started offering a total of 15 million in scholarship money, recruiting high school students, and shifting majors to employ graduates in this new field.

Why should we care?

High school esports teams attract students that traditionally are not involved in athletics and are difficult to engage with school activities.  Bringing these students into team-based competitions will build their social skills while increasing attendance, grades, school spirit, and mental fitness.  Esports appeal to a very broad cross-section of students and teams are often made up of male, female, and handicapped students.

How do we get involved?

Berrien RESA coordinates a high school esports league for Southwest Michigan!  This will allow local teams to play each other in a safe school controlled environment. We are nationally affiliated with the North American Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF.org).

What are the district responsibilities?

Districts will need to sign an understanding that their team(s) will abide by the league rules and register with NASEF.org.  Each district will need a faculty advisor to oversee the club and will need to provide computers to play on, however, the technical requirements are very low.  Eligibility will be required by the league, and faculty advisors will need to verify each student’s status before competitions in alignment with current district eligibility practices for existing clubs and teams.

What are the student responsibilities?

Students will be required to follow league rules and any district policy regarding clubs while also maintaining eligibility status.  Students will need to create game accounts and keep their account in good standing. Players are expected to participate in team practices and scrimmages as set by the faculty advisor.

What are Berrien RESA’s responsibilities?

Berrien RESA will run the league and facilitate the logistical details of scheduling regular season and postseason matches.  Berrien RESA, in coordination with NASEF, will provide information and guide districts through implementing a team and associated tasks like live streaming games.