Indy Standard

Butler University Set to Host NACE Starleague’s Spring 2023 Grand Finals

Playfly Esports announced today its plans for the next iteration of its NACE Starleague Grand Finals. The spring 2023 installment is set to take place live and in-person on the campus of Butler University on April 29-30. Following the record-setting success of the Fall 2022 Grand Finals, this two-day competition will feature 14 teams from colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada vying for title championships inside Butler’s 7,500-square-foot Esports Park.

Seven major titles will also be broadcast on the NACE Starleague Twitch channel including CS:GO, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends.

“We couldn’t think of a better location to host NACE Starleague’s next Grand Finals than Butler’s impressive Esports Park,” said Curtis Winger, Vice President of Operations at Playfly Esports. “The momentum built during the fall season has the Playfly Esports team energized to continue taking NACE Starleague to new levels and we look forward to working alongside Butler University to create another highly engaging, live collegiate esports championship.”

“Butler University is thrilled to host the Spring 2023 Grand Finals at our new state-of-the-art Esports Park,” said Eric Kammeyer, Butler University’s Director of Esports and Gaming Technology. “Indianapolis has a long tradition of hosting major sporting events—including the Indy 500, Super Bowl, and multiple Final Fours—and is well on its way to establishing itself as a hub in the sports technology sector. I’m excited that Butler can serve as host and showcase Indy to competitors, sponsors, and spectators. I know that our community shares my excitement and are eager to assist with hosting this inspiring event.”

Attendance for all fans and spectators will be free across both days of competition. Butler’s Esports Park is located on campus at 4702 Sunset Avenue in Indianapolis.

NACE Starleague, the largest collegiate esports league in North America, welcomes the spring schedule after a record-setting fall season and Grand Finals event that boasted more than 4.6 million minutes watched and more than 641,000 unique viewers across two days of collegiate competition. Overall, the most recent fall season saw more than 12,800 students participating from 650 colleges and universities. That number includes nearly 4,000 total teams, nearly double the number of teams who participated in the spring of 2022 (1,894). Spring 2023 is on pace to continue that upward trajectory, already registering more than 13,000 student-athletes.

Schools participating in NACE Starleague this spring include some of the biggest names in collegiate athletics, including University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW), Louisiana State University (LSU), University of Southern California (USC), Michigan State University (MSU), University of North Carolina (UNC), University of Maryland (UMD), Boise State University (BSU), University of Kansas (KU), Duke, Indiana University, Ohio State University, University of Kentucky, Miami University, and Virginia Tech.

Original source can be found here.