The National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) is proud to share more information about Project I Nationals. Project I Nationals will take place in San Antonio from Thursday, May 14 through Sunday, May 17, as part of the NECC Nationals in conjunction with the FORGE Scholastic Esports Championship.
Project I Nationals brings together a number of conferences that are supported by the NECC, catering to institutions that participate at the NCAA Division I level for traditional athletics.
The games that will be available for the upcoming championship LAN are:
League of Legends, Marvel Rivals, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Valorant.
Four teams from each of the games being sponsored will qualify for the Championship LAN.
Media day will take place during the day on Thursday, May 14th and Friday, May 15th, and matches will be played throughout the weekend. As teams qualify, an information packet will be shared with more information about the LAN.
The qualification process can be found below.
Qualification Process
The qualification process for Project I begins at the conference level. Teams will play within their respective conferences, followed by a conference championship.
At the conclusion of each conference championship, whether online or in-person, teams will be awarded a bid to the qualification bracket, to determine which teams attend Project I Nationals.
Bid Allocation
NECC Partner Conferences will be awarded bids to the Project I Nationals Qualification Bracket, in the amount listed below for each game.
Additional bids may be awarded at the NECC’s discretion, if a team is unable to attend the LAN or Qualification Bracket.
Project I
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League of Legends - 4 Teams
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Overwatch 2 - 4 Teams
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Marvel Rivals - 4 Teams
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Rocket League - 4 Teams
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Valorant - 4 Teams
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - MAAC
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League of Legends - 2 Teams
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Overwatch 2 - 2 Teams
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Rocket League - 2 Teams
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Valorant - 2 Teams
Missouri Valley Conference - MVC
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Overwatch 2 - 2 Teams
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Rocket League - 2 Teams
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Valorant - 2 Teams
Summit League
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League of Legends - 2 Teams
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Overwatch 2 - 2 Teams
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Rocket League - 2 Teams
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Valorant - 2 Teams
Totals
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League of Legends - 8 Teams
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Overwatch 2 - 10 Teams
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Rocket League - 10 Teams
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Marvel Rivals - 4 Teams
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Valorant - 10 Teams
Qualification Bracket Format
Each game will have an eight-team double elimination bracket.
For the games that have more than eight bids, teams seeded 7th through 10th will compete in a play-in match to earn a spot in the bracket. This bracket will take place on April 18th and April 19th, with the times for each round listed below.
If a team is unable to play at the scheduled time, please contact the NECC as soon as possible to discuss possible options.
The top four teams from each bracket will qualify for the LAN.
Seeding for the qualification brackets will be at the discretion of NECC Staff.
Qualifier Dates
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Play-in (if applicable) - April 18th, 6pm EDT
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Upper Bracket Round 1 - April 18th, 7pm EDT
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Lower Bracket Round 1 - April 18th, 8pm EDT
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Upper Bracket Qualifier - April 19th, 6pm EDT
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Lower Bracket Qualifier - April 19th, 8pm EDT
Series Length
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Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals will be First to 3 until the Qualifier rounds, which will be First to 4.
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League of Legends and Valorant will be Best of 1 until the Qualifier rounds, which will be Best of 3.
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Rocket League will be Best of 5 until the Qualifier Rounds, which will be Best of 7.
ABOUT THE NECC
The NECC fosters innovative competition experiences, provides quality broadcasting services, and works to support an inclusive community within collegiate esports. The NECC was started to provide the collegiate gaming community with the respect it warranted and deserved. The conference prides itself on responding to the needs of its schools, directors, coaches, and most importantly - its players.
With more than 500 colleges and universities currently competing, the NECC strives to be a positive home for the collegiate gaming community.
For more information about the NECC, their schools, games, and community, visit their website at https://necc.gg/
