Registration Begins Today, with Tournament Play Starting October 12

DALLAS – Learfield IMG College and Mainline, its esports tournament operator provider, introduces the “Mid-American Madden Challenge” designed for 10 members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Presented by the U.S. Marines, the Challenge will begin on October 12 and culminate with a Championship format broadcast on Twitch.

Registration begins today. Open to all students of participating universities, the individual qualifying tournaments begin October 12. Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio and Toledo are the MAC member schools taking part in the “Mid-American Madden Challenge presented by the U.S. Marines”.         

Students will compete in Madden NFL 20 on Xbox One, with one winner advancing from the 10 individual, single-elimination qualifying tournaments. Those winners will advance to the Championship, representing their university, with the addition of six wildcards. The 16-person Mid-American Madden Challenge Championship games will be called by the play-by-play broadcasters associated with these schools. Learfield IMG College is the athletics multimedia rightsholder for the participating 10 universities, allowing new opportunities for sponsors to engage.

“We see tremendous value in esports, and we’re excited about the Mid-American Challenge presented by the U.S. Marines running next month,” said Learfield IMG College’s EVP/Managing Director – Media and Partnerships Group Rick Barakat. “Mainline’s white-labeled tournament software allows sponsors to have unique esports brand visibility while aligning with universities where they already have an affinity.”

Mainline is an esports tournament software and management company focused on providing customers with their own esports offerings. Houston, Texas-based Mainline helps colleges and brands manage, monetize and market their esports programs and tournaments. For more information, visit mainline.gg and twitter.com/mainlineesports.

Learfield IMG College is the leading media and technology services company in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions for fan engagement. The Learfield IMG College suite of services includes licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, the company has long had the privilege of being an advocate for intercollegiate athletics and the student-athlete experience. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.