Where do Amateurs Go to Become Pros? A Comparison of the Current Competition Systems in Collegiate Esports to Traditional Collegiate Sport Environments

Abstract

Researchers are interested in how the collegiate esports model can follow that of the traditional sports talent pipelines. This piece seeks to conceptualize the manifestations of collegiate esports unique from traditional sports, as it integrates into the higher education model. In the current esports ecosystem, game developers own all intellectual property associated with the games and thus run the operations of leagues and/or tournaments themselves. Because of this, the pipeline seen in traditional sports is not transferrable or mimicked in the collegiate esports realm. The result is unique considerations for higher education administrators and coordinators regarding the retention of players and the recruitment of players from other institutions and professional circles. This line of research will lay the foundations for future study in collegiate esports and assist in building the literature on the esports ecosystem.