Venture-backed startup, PlayVS, has announced an exclusive deal with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its accompanying network to bring competitive esports to 19,000 high schools nationwide. The partnership will provide structured high school esports competitions, replete with leaderboards, gaming news bulletins and an avenue to reach college recruiters.
Delane Parnell, PlayVS’ founder and CEO, started the company in part because of the early growth of collegiate esports and because he recognized an opportunity to provide structure to a nascent and often disorganized marketplace.
“We’re really excited about the gradual initiatives that have happened at the collegiate level within esports. We’ve talked with almost every college that offers a scholarship,” Parnell said. “There’s a few things that seem to be consistent patterns across all of these colleges and the most important one is that they’re unable to fill most of their scholarships because, again, there’s just no competition that’s structured within the high school ecosystem.”
As part of the deal, PlayVS will provide a rotating selection of games, with the partnership of major game studios, ranging from well-known EA Sports titles to strategy games to fighting/martial arts (possibly including the Super Smash Bros. franchise), though Parnell wouldn’t disclose any exact selections. Notably, PlayVS will not support the first-person shooter genre of games like Overwatch or Call of Duty.
NFHS member high schools will allow students to create as many teams as they’d like, without tryouts and without regard for experience, grade level or gender. Teams will compete over months for their respective schools, divided into conferences, and a state playoff and championship will follow each season. While the seasons themselves will take place online through PlayVS, eliminating the significant travel costs for schools, the playoffs and championships will be held in front of live audiences, much like professional esports.
PlayVS was born of an early experience Parnell had with gaming, one that he later realized would become the basis for him to start the company.
“Gaming is a pretty important piece of my life. When I was a kid, who was in high school, one of my science teachers unofficially started a gaming and esports club in which he supplied his own equipment,” Parnell said. “It’s pretty interesting, and I didn’t make the connection [immediately] that I would build this into an actual company.”
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“As it relates to esports, we take care of the entire cost and logistics of that, and the states help with coordination and relationships because they know the best places to host these sorts of events within their state,” Parnell explained. “And so we’ll rely on them heavily for help there, but we see a world where championships happen at different venues within the state—it could be a professional arena, it could be the school’s auditorium and gymnasium with an esports production set- up there.”
Of course, as with every sport, esports in high school has its complexities and challenges. The NFHS works closely with the NCAA, Parnell told SportTechie, but high school amateurs are not restricted the same way college athletes are. While he said PlayVS will never promote underage gambling and certainly not while actively participating in competition, he does encourage high school gamers to build their own brands and platforms, which can bring a profit. That profit could make them ineligible for NCAA competition, a ripe issue while the NCAA is still debating if it should take esports under its governance.
PlayVS is backed by venture capital firm, Science, whose portfolio includes Dollar Shave Club and DogVacay. Dollar Shave Club was acquired by Unilver in 2016 in a deal valued at $1 billion.
The first season will begin in October, with initial rollout in at least 15 states.
SportTechie Takeaway
The partnership is a huge step for PlayVS and for high schools across the country. As Parnell told SportTechie, its inherent inclusivity could help students engage with a school-sanctioned activity that also prepares them for the next level, whether that’s college or professional gaming. Nielsen last October published a report detailing that while the esports fan makeup is generally male, women are invested in the sport and are fans of games like FIFA; the sports titles PlayVS may offer for competition could help attract young women to the playing field.
As for high schools, they already have most of the physical tools needed to support competitive esports, Parnell said, making it far more affordable for both schools and their students to participate, compared to traditional sports that require a much heavier investment. With PlayVS footing the bill for the playoffs and championships, where travel and other logistics are involved, the creation of a structured high school esports league allows students of any background to compete and learn, and possibly obtain a college scholarship or a path to professional esports.
As organized esports begin working with kids at younger ages, issues of athlete “burnout” will continue to buzz. Numerous executives and owners of traditional sports teams who have spoken on the SportTechie Podcast noted the distinctions between esports and traditional sports and specifically the challenge of athlete burnout:
Suggested Further Reading
Orange County High School Esports League Combines Education, Gaming
First NCAA Conference Joins College League Of Legends Season
College Conference Commission Questions Whether Esports Is a Sport
University Of Utah Becomes First Power Five School To Offer Varsity Esports