Pac 12 eSports

[ghostwhitehorse]

http://pac-12.com/article/2016/05/24/pa ... nKarpPosts" target="_blank

Pac-12 Networks & eSports
Finally, following an internal review of the growing interest amongst Pac-12 students in competitive video gaming, the presidents and chancellors approved Pac-12 Networks to commence eSports competitions with Pac-12 universities this upcoming year. Teams from campuses will participate based on a specific game, and the competitions will include head-to-head matchups in studios as well as a tournament in conjunction with a Pac-12 championship event. The game titles and event formats are still to be determined, but will be announced in the coming months.

Intercollegiate competition in egaming is in its initial stages, but Pac-12 universities are increasingly involved through passionate student groups competing in competitions with popular games. eSports is also closely tied to academic departments at Pac-12 universities such as computer science, visual and cinematic arts, engineering and others.

“eSports is a natural fit for many of our universities located in the technology and media hubs of the country,” said Scott. “Pac-12 Networks’ commitment to innovation as well as its natural tie to our universities and established media platform make it the perfect

Hrmm. . .

[CalStateTempe]

Innovation for innovations sake while the pac12 burns...

[CalStateTempe]

What a needle dick.

[Merkin]

The PAC-12 meanwhile hopes viewership of eSports events on the PAC-12 network will reach into the dozens.

Reminds me of the original days of ESPN where they had to scramble for any event to show, such as go-cart racing.

[catgrad97]

Yes, but there was cable scarcity and zero competition in those days. The Pac-12 Network has a bad business model and apparently worse adaptability.

Give me a good, reliable app or site for football and basketball games and I'm kissing P12N goodbye. This is putting the conference so far behind the rest of the Power 5 it may never catch up.

[Puerco]

Does the PAC-12 host chess tournaments?

'eSports' are not sport. Actual sports involve some form of, I dont know... Physical movement?

[ASUHATER!]

Does the PAC-12 host chess tournaments?

'eSports' are not sport. Actual sports involve some form of, I dont know... Physical movement?

That's why it's called esports and not sports.

[Merkin]

Soon the PAC will show former PAC players and coaches playing each other in Madden 16.

[Chicat]

Don't laugh, but Madden might be the only football played in 40 years...

[Puerco]

Does the PAC-12 host chess tournaments?

'eSports' are not sport. Actual sports involve some form of, I dont know... Physical movement?

That's why it's called esports and not sports.

And does the PAC-12 sponsor any other eSports, or maybe bSports like Chess or Risk or Monopoly? Scrabble? Maybe we could have a Pac12 Angry Birds championship? From what I can tell, the PAC is part of the NCAA, which stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. I'm not sure eAthletics are covered by the NCAA.

Perhaps I'm wrong and the PAC regulates all sorts of other intercollegiate activities that are not sports-related. I simply can't find any evidence that they do. I do however see the PAC-12 mission statement contains a lot of mentions about 'athletics':

The mission of the Conference shall be:
1. To emphasize the welfare of the student-athlete throughout the enterprise and encourage each participant in a Conference program to acquire a baccalaureate degree and the skills necessary to function as a productive member of society.
2. To maximize the value of Conference affiliation for all member institutions in a manner consistent with the Conference's values while maintaining a position of national leadership in the conduct of intercollegiate athletics.
3. To adhere to the highest standards of higher education, academic achievement, ethical conduct, sportsman- ship, and a commitment to gender equity and ethnic diversity.
4. To sustain the Conference's unparalleled record of athletic excellence.
5. To assure each member institution's commitment to the Conference's values, and, in so doing, foster collegial relationships among members to manage the tensions that frequently surface in the competitive environ- ment.

Nah, this is just Larry Scott looking for another revenue stream, regardless of whether it has anything to do with the core function of his job or the conference. Maybe he can start up the collegiate equivalent of WWE -- that'd probably pull in some bucks.

[Timmy1973]

It seems that E-sports are still unregulated by the NCAA. The scholarships are from the athletic department.
http://time.com/3756140/video-games-varsity/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/techn ... .html?_r=0
It's probably to increase their "Live Event" coverage numbers per channel as a ploy to be more attractive to cable providers.

[Puerco]

Yep, in doing some research for my post above, it was difficult to find a reference to the PAC-12 that didn't include the PAC-12 network. Is it me, or are Larry & Co. forgetting that the PAC should first and foremost be about students, kind of like the mission statement implies?

[ghostwhitehorse]

. . . is dead (for now).

https://compete.kotaku.com/why-was-the- ... 1824011578" target="_blank

What sunk it? A December 2016 e-mail from University of Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart—from the week the conference voted on the proposed 2017 esports league, obtained by Compete—put the concerns of some in the conference starkly:

“...There are legal and compliance issues that have not been fully vetted and that warrant consideration before moving forward. Although this proposal is not for an athletics activity, I understand that Title IX still applies and may be cause for concern because e-Sports is currently heavily male-dominated (the Pac-12 previously estimated approximately 85-90% of participants are male); the women who do participate are increasingly reporting sexism, harassment and abuse within the gaming community; and many games contain sexualized content. There also potential Americans with Disabilities Act concerns which had not even been considered by the Pac-12 prior to this past Monday’s meeting in San Francisco. We have not yet explored whether and to what extent these games are accessible and adaptable under the ADA. Additionally, the Pac-12 has told us they are modeling the e-Sports proposal on the amateurism rules of the NCAA, and creating similar participation requirements. If the Pac-12 becomes a sort of “mini-NCAA” for the e-Sports leagues and tournaments, this could potentially trigger the same anti-trust and other hurdles that the NCAA deals with now but without some of the justifications that the NCAA uses in those cases (e.g., the long-standing tradition of amateurism in college sports).”