NACE partners with Harrisburg University for largest two-day collegiate esports event with $50,000 prize pool

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 20, 2018) – The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) has announced its official endorsement of the Harrisburg University Esports Tournament, which will showcase top collegiate teams during a two-day festival (HUE) in Harrisburg, Pa., September 21-22, 2018. HUE combines music and gaming into a first of its kind event, giving college varsity athletes the chance to battle for their piece of a prize pool of $50,000.

“HUE marks the largest collegiate varsity esports tournament ever. This inaugural event takes competitive gaming to a whole new level,” said Michael Brooks, NACE Executive Director. “We are excited to see so many colleges come together in Harrisburg to compete in HU’s cutting edge arena. It will be the ultimate spectator experience.”

The two-day HUE Tournament will match up 32 varsity esports teams from colleges throughout the country, competing in Overwatch and League of Legends. The first day will comprise of round-robin group stage elimination with the top teams moving on to the second day. On September 22nd, the tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals will take place at the state-of-the-art Whitaker Center in front of live audiences of up to 700. A true spectator event, the tournament provides esports fans the opportunity to watch and cheer on their favorite teams both in-person and live-streamed on Twitch.

“HUE is the new collegiate tournament standard,” said Chad Smeltz, Harrisburg University Esports Program Director. “We are proud to host an event of this magnitude in Harrisburg and having NACE behind it really speaks to the level of talent and the quality of the program we’ve got here at Harrisburg University.”

“This tournament sets a new precedent and proves that more colleges and universities are embracing varsity esports and the opportunity it provides its students,” said Brooks.

For a full schedule of HUE esports matches and for more information about the event or purchase match tickets and VIP passes, visit www.huefest.com. 

For more information about NAC Esports or how to become a member visit www.NACeSports.org.

About NAC Esports

The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. is a nonprofit membership association organized by and on behalf of our member institutions and is the only governing body of college esports in North America. Since 2016 our members started developing the structure and tools needed to advance collegiate esports in the varsity space. NACE currently has over 80 varsity esports programs as members and is growing at a rapid rate. www.nacesports.org


About HU Esports

Harrisburg University (HU) is a private non-profit university offering bachelor and graduate degree programs in science, technology, and math fields. HU’s Esports Program is the University’s first–and only–varsity sport. The team is under the leadership of Program Director Chad Smeltz and Head Coach Geoffrey Wang. Smeltz is a long-time Esports coach and Harrisburg native. Wang is a world-ranked gamer. The varsity team will have the opportunity to compete in some of the most popular Esports games around the world, including “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” and “Hearthstone.” The team members will compete on 40’ screens in its state-of-the-art arena space and receive full scholarships as part of the varsity team.