Playfly College Esports: Town Hall #1 Recap

Yesterday afternoon, we hosted our first Playfly College Esports Town Hall to address questions we received from the community across our Discord, Socials, and other comms channels. Playfly speakers included Charles O'Donnell, Curtis Winger, Francisco Tejada, Ed Chamberlain, Kyle DeFrancisco, and Joe Navarro, with close to 50 collegiate esports leaders in attendance. The Town Hall was opened with the following statement:

“Disruption is part of our DNA at Playfly but as it relates to college esports we do believe that there is a benefit to stability and we know that the announcement of sunsetting NACE Starleague came as a surprise to many of you. To be frank, we were surprised when we received a letter from NACE’s National Office on April 1st requesting the termination of our partnership, and, as part of that, we were upset on behalf of the community that we serve. From the time that we received that letter and for the following two months, we at Playfly made several attempts to keep the alignment moving forward, uninterrupted, but those proposals were rebuffed and on June 25th we received another letter from NACE terminating the partnership, effective immediately.

Playfly has invested significantly in the NACE Starleague product & services over the past three years so this is not what we wanted; that said, our organization has been operating all facets of college esports competitions and providing opportunities for students since 2009, formerly as Collegiate Starleague, CSL Esports and obviously, most recently, as NACE Starleague.

The great news is, we LOVE what we do and we are going to continue to do it at the highest level.  We are so excited about this new chapter to provide the best services and to be the home for as many college esports competitions as possible within our rebranded ecosystem, Playfly College Esports.”

-Charles O’Donnell, Vice President & Business Head of Esports @ Playfly Sports

 

Questions + Answers 

Curtis, Kyle, and Joe from the Playfly Ops team fielded the following questions that were either submitted in advance or in real-time over the Zoom chat.

NACE Starleague

What is the estimated number of schools that will come over from NACE?

Since we announced our plans last week there’s been this recurring “them vs us” noise on socials, “NACE vs Playfly.” We did not participate in those pro-wrestling style arguments because they’re unproductive, but we do see it happening around us. We are laser focused on the players & programs within the community and are confident in the product & services that you’ve come to know and enjoy. As Charles mentioned, we have been in the college esports league business for a very long time. Most, if not all of you have competed in NACE Starleague under our direct oversight for the past few years so we wouldn’t frame it as, “coming over.” 

What exactly does this split mean, what changes in terms of things we have access to?

Out of the gate, from a competition standpoint, we are aiming to provide a very similar experience to NACE Starleague, and then from there we will iterate based on feedback from the community. 

To reiterate, Playfly College Esports and NACE are two completely unique things now, so if you continue to participate solely as a Varsity member with Playfly you would lose access to NACE’s offering. 

Is there still the same amount of tiers? If so, what are the costs, for example if I am a varsity member do I get access to lower tiers included in cost? Or is that separate?

The existing NACE Starleague structure that you're familiar with will continue, including the rank-based divisions. Varsity Members have access to Premier, Plus, and our Circuit titles. The "Open" division is separate, with a separate price tag. For a full breakdown, please see our Primer article here.

 

General

Are the play days finalized now?

Yes, we do not expect to make any further changes.

Why is Spring moved up so early? Why is the LCQ in the middle of spring breaks? Why is the LAN pushed back further?

The overall start date, and subsequently the date of the LAN, were identified so that all stages of the Spring Season could be completed several weeks ahead of the LAN event. This ensures that LAN invitees have adequate lead time to coordinate travel, accommodations, etc. All stages were scheduled with this end result in mind; however, we are reviewing internally following feedback from schools to see if there’s any adjustments we can apply for a better fit. 

How many teams qualify each semester to the national tournament in Spring?

As we currently have structured, there will be a total of 8 teams from each title (subject to change depending on registration numbers, etc). The top two teams from Varsity and Open Premier, from both the fall and spring, will be invited to participate. This is something that will continue to evolve year over year in order to provide as many opportunities for in-person competition as possible. 

How is Playfly addressing the scheduling conflict between their LAN event and CECC’s on the same weekend?

For 2024-2025, we announced that our national LAN event would take place after the Spring Season from May 2-4, 2025; however, Chris Postell has since flagged a conflict with CECC. We are working on finalizing new dates. Stay tuned!

Are repeat teams allowed? For example, an A team in Premier and a B team is in Plus?

Yes, schools are more than welcome to register multiple teams. In each Premier Division, a school can only have one team while there is no team limit in Plus Divisions.

That said, individual players may only compete on one team per game title. Some rule clauses (i.e. Promotion clause) may allow exceptions with approval from our league admins. Individual players also can only compete in either Varsity or Open competitions.

Can you offer transparency as to where the $150K in prizing is coming from?

All funding for the operations of the league, including the provision of prizing, comes from a combination of membership fees and sponsorship revenue. 

What is the long-term plan for sustainability in this league?

See above. + One of the benefits to our business within Playfly is that we are able to rely on robust shared back office support, including: legal, HR, PR, accounting, finance, marketing, creative, etc. Since these supports do not sit directly on our P&L, it makes a break-even EBITDA outcome for our business more attainable & sustainable.  

What are protocols for player compliance? Are their limits to terms of eligibility? Can both undergraduate and graduate students compete?

Initially, we will launch with our base ruleset, which does permit both undergraduate and graduate students to compete that otherwise meet the eligibility requirements; however we will continue to look to thought leaders in the space, like VOICE, to provide overarching recommendations based on the work they're doing to unify standards within collegiate esports. We believe there are good people out there doing very good work on topics like these, and we can look to them for guidance in consultation with our committee.

How will you confirm student eligibility?

Through a mandatory form that schools will submit proof of student eligibility (letter from registrar, unofficial transcript, etc).

My school is going to have issues processing the paperwork needed to authorize payment at a new vendor in the short term. What can I do?

We’re happy to talk through this to learn more about this challenge. Please email us at esports@playfly.com with your name, college and the pertaining details.  We want to eliminate as much process friction as possible to maximize participation.

 

Varsity

Does being a Varsity Member mean we cannot be a "Varsity" member elsewhere?

Of course you may be a member elsewhere. We are not pursuing exclusive agreements with member schools. We believe schools should align with the competitions that best suit their needs and the needs of their students, even if there are several of them. That said, we do pride ourselves on being a competition destination for the community. 

How many teams can I have under a Varsity membership?

There is no limit to the number of teams you can have or the titles you can participate in; however, all students must be members of the school's varsity esports program to be eligible.

With no payments on "Early Bird" sign ups until July 2025, what will the invoice for this membership look like?

For those that opt for the two-year Varsity membership at $3,000, you will receive an invoice for the full amount on July 1, 2025.

When is Varsity membership payment due for the one year option?

One-year terms will be invoiced immediately upon application approval and are payable upon receipt. We of course will give programs grace here, as needed. 

Where would we go to set up our Varsity membership and payment?

Please see our application here: If you have any questions, please reach out to us at esports@playfly.com.

Will individual students of member schools need to pay the $40-$75 fee in addition to the school paying for membership, or in lieu of?

Varsity member schools and their representative students have unlimited access to Varsity-specific competitions and our Circuit titles. There is no additional cost to the individual student, unless there is an appetite to participate in the Open Division.

Can Varsity programs (supported by institutions) participate in the Open series?

Varsity members have full, unfettered access to all Varsity-specific competitions and our circuit tournaments; however, students representing Varsity member schools are welcome to participate in Open competition but they will be responsible for the cost associated with doing so. Additionally, individuals and teams may not compete in both Divisions for the same title.

What criteria will be used for Premier conference seeding?

Since we have been establishing the committee, the exact seeding criteria is being determined. But Premier seeding will be done very similarly to how it has been done in the past three years.

Tentatively - we will first seeding based purely on the average rank of top X players on the roster, X being the minimum players needed. Then we will send it to our advisory committee to review and adjust the conferences as needed to ensure they are balanced.

Will there be a "Super Conference" as a subsection of Varsity Premier like there was last season for some titles?

Not this year. Typically it is a very involved process to broach with schools ahead of time so we will revisit it later this year when planning for the 2025 - 2026 competition. We look forward to those discussions. . 

How many schools are signed up for Varsity?

We just opened the application portal today. In the coming weeks, we will periodically update the number of schools that have signed up and highlight those programs across our media. 

 

Open

Is "Open" open to everybody?

The Open Division is for anyone and everyone. The same basic eligibility requirements apply - full-time students in good academic standing - but beyond that there are no restrictions. School programs, school clubs, and PUG teams may all participate in Open.

If my school is not a Varsity member, is it possible to pay a fee for X game competition?

Yes, the Open membership, which is available on an individual basis, grants access to all of our Open competitions as well as our Circuit titles.

If I wanted my VALORANT team to compete in the Open Plus, I would get each of them the $40 membership?

Yes, that is correct! Each player would need the Standard membership - which provides access to all Open Plus competitions including VALORANT.

In the event I have a player who is a member of multiple teams across different game titles, would both be covered under one Open membership?

That is correct - a membership provides access to ALL game titles of its type. For example, a Standard membership would provide access to ALL Open Plus competitions for that player.

 

New Benefits

How will profit from school collections/merchandise work? Is there a revenue split for storefronts?

Yes, 85% of all profits go back to the school, paid out quarterly.  There are no out of pocket costs for the schools. Playfly covers all admin / hosting costs so it is all upside for the schools. We are excited about this opportunity to help schools drive incremental revenue for their programs and to amplify the great work that their teams are doing!

Are we able to embed the stores into our athletic sites?

Presently, your school collection will be hosted on a dedicated landing page on playflycollege.gg (see an example here), but we'd love to explore if there's a way to integrate both. Please shoot us an email at esports@playfly.com so we can connect our dev teams.

Will there be any applications for broadcast talent for those weekly broadcasts?

Right now, we are looking to secure our broadcast production partner for the Fall. Then we will follow up on broadcast talent after that. Stay tuned for a potential update on that.

Do you have any more details on the social media kit?

We know time and resources to develop marketing assets for social and other channels can be scarce on campus, so we’re developing a kit for growing programs to help simplify the development and maintenance of creative assets like roster reveals, broadcast tune-ins, match ups, game results, and more). We’re working with Playfly Creates (our internal design team) to generate these templates and expect the kit to launch prior to the start of Fall 2024 competition.

 

Circuit

How can we get access to Fortnite or other Circuit titles?

Circuit titles like Fortnite and Hearthstone are included as a part of any of our three membership options - Varsity, Standard and Premier. Details can be found in our Primer here.

What is the anticipated schedule for Fortnite in the coming year?

We do not have a confirmed schedule as we are still working with the publisher. However, we expect the schedule to have the same cadence as prior seasons.

 

Third-Party Competitions

How many races are planned for the 2024/25 eNASCAR season? Will the eNASCAR races follow a similar format to the 2023/24 season and with the same cars?

Similar format to 2023-2024. Eight regular season races featuring the Craftsman and Xfinity vehicles, leading to a single Championship. More info can be found at playflycollege.gg in our eNASCAR announcement article here.

Can we expect to see changes when it comes to the timing of PMCC qualifying tournaments?

I'll answer this specific to PMCC, which is the PUBG MOBILE Campus Championship, but really it applies broadly. When scheduling, we try to plan so that events are as accessible as possible to as many folks as possible. Unfortunately, regardless of where you land there are going to be folks that it works for and there are going to be folks that it doesn't. Hopefully it works for more folks than not, but that's something we're always cognizant of. The reality is there's usually some people advocating for change, and some folks against it, and you sometimes end up in the same place, but I think that journey is important to have to informed decision-making. With PMCC specifically, ahead of the next season we are planning on surveying participants to see if there is a need to adjust what we have, so please look for that in the coming weeks. 

 

Notes

Playfly College Esports will host another Town Hall next Tuesday, July 23 from 2:00-3:00PM ET to address additional questions. Please RSVP here.  As a follow up to that Town Hall, we will once again post a summary to our blog for public reference.

It is our promise to you that we will continue to work with the community to operate and enhance the competitive experience that you’ve come to expect, and we look forward to shaping the future of collegiate esports together!