BOWLING GREEN — The buzz for electronic sports, or esports, has amplified to a roar in the Mid-American Conference.
A dozen conference-affiliated schools in early June joined forces to establish the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC), which is scheduled to begin competitive play independently from the MAC in the 2020-21 school year. Bowling Green State University, which already had its own esports club established, is among the 12 involved, along with rival University of Toledo, Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio University, and Western Michigan.
“There’s boatloads of kids out there that want to do this — well, they’re doing it already,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said as the conference was announced.