Riot Games Creates The Riot Scholastic Association Of America for College Esports

Riot Games announced as part of this week’s college championship celebration the formation of the Riot Scholastic Association of America — the governing body for Riot’s college and high school esports activity.

A board of advisors made up of leaders from throughout college esports will work with a dedicated Riot team to level up Riot’s continued support for scholastic esports, including scaling competitive operations, creating a more inclusive student community, and aligning with the goals of schools.

The inaugural RSAA Advisory board will consist of:

• Mark Deppe – Director of Esports, University of California, Irvine; Commissioner, NASEF
• A.J. Dimick – Director of Esports Operations, University of Utah
• Erin Harvego – Vice President of Marketing, Big Ten Network
• Carolayne Henry – Senior Associate Commissioner, Governance & Legal Affairs/SWA – Mountain West Conference
• Kurt Melcher – Executive Director of Esports, Robert Morris University; Executive Director of Esports, Intersport
• T.L. Taylor – Director of Research, AnyKey.org; Professor – MIT

“When we established the first varsity college esports program in the country [at Robert Morris University] in 2014, I was largely inspired to do so because of League of Legends,” said Melcher. “As an increasing number of high schools and universities across the country build esports programs, it is important that a broad range of co-curricular perspectives are included to help shape the future of campus esports. Riot’s scholastic team is committed to creating great opportunity and establishing a more inclusive environment for all students. I look forward to expanding my efforts through the RSAA Board of Advisors.”

Riot’s current scholastic team will operate under the RSAA effective immediately. The College League of Legends season and championship will be governed by the RSAA team, in tandem with existing operations partners. The RSAA team will work closely with the Board of Advisors on initiatives that extend and grow the footprint of college esports.

“The formation of the RSAA represents Riot’s long term commitment to League of Legends, and it’s development as an inclusive, multi-generational, college and high school sport,” said Michael Sherman, Head of College, RSAA. “As League enters its 10th year, we’ve never been more committed to growing the ecosystem that supports it.”

The announcement comes as Riot kicks off the 2019 League of Legends College Championship — the largest college esports championship in North America.