PlayVS has announced the launch of its new collegiate competition framework, the PlayVS College League (PCL), which will operate across more than 1,000 campuses during the 2025–2026 academic year.
The initiative aims to bring greater organisation and accessibility to the growing collegiate esports scene, forming part of PlayVS’s wider goal of creating an integrated competitive pathway from middle school to university. The company says the PCL will also help open up career-focused opportunities in areas such as broadcasting, event management and media.
The structure of the league is designed to be flexible, with no limits on team size, per-seat costs or the number of participating rosters. Students will have the opportunity to compete across 17 game titles from leading publishers, while institutions will be given tools to track performance, manage statistics, build community engagement and compete at different competitive levels. Membership costs $1,000 for the entire 2025–2026 academic year.
National playoffs will take place in both the autumn and spring seasons, culminating in in-person finals. PlayVS has confirmed it will provide travel stipends for teams that qualify for these LAN events.
PlayVS Chief Executive Jon Chapman described the PCL as “more than just the launch of a league”, adding that it is intended to match the professionalism and structure typically associated with traditional athletics while fostering player development and community building.
PlayVS, which has previously acquired Generation Esports and Playfly Esports, now operates what it calls the most extensive scholastic esports pathway in North America. The organisation is also the official high school esports partner of the NFHS Network, the Special Olympics and more than 40 state and regional bodies across the US and Canada.
