NJCAAE Builds a Gateway to Connect the Collegiate Esports Pipeline

The NJCAAE is expanding its role in collegiate esports through Gateway Esports, an initiative designed to create stronger connections between two-year and four-year institutions while providing students and programs with a more cohesive path through the collegiate esports ecosystem.

For the NJCAAE, the idea of building a larger pipeline has been part of the organization’s vision since its founding in 2019. The organization has spent years developing its services and listening to the needs of its members, ultimately leading to the launch of Gateway Esports.

The organization originally focused on competition, but its long-term vision always extended beyond esports matches. As the NJCAAE grew, its leadership recognized the need to provide additional services, including program development, professional development and tools designed to support member institutions.

“We always knew the concept was to be a primary piece in the pipeline to stability, growth and success in esports,” Matt King, Senior Director of Operations, said. “It took us time to accept and eventually build into the ability to host the services, like our competition and recruitment platforms, ourselves.”

Recruiting and enrollment have also remained central to the NJCAAE since its founding. The organization has worked to find ways to better support both areas.

For Executive Director and Founder Jeff White, the importance of esports as a recruiting and engagement tool became apparent before the NJCAAE was created. While working on a college campus, White had several areas of the institution within his purview, including Student Life and the Student Center. He noticed that the gaming area consistently attracted students from different backgrounds.

“We did not have anything special set up, just a series of TVs and consoles. Nonetheless, it was always filled with students from all background playing and watching. No other area on our campus had the same sense of community across all groups of students.”

That experience helped shape White’s vision for the NJCAAE. He wanted to create a scalable and sustainable organization that could stand the test of time, create meaningful engagement opportunities for students who were not otherwise engaged and provide a recruiting pipeline for NJCAAE members.

One of the challenges the organization encountered in its early years was a lack of understanding and commitment from senior administrators. White also identified a distinction between engagement recruiting and enrollment recruiting. While engagement recruiting involves encouraging students who are already enrolled at an institution to participate, enrollment recruiting focuses on securing new students to attend the institution.

White said programs must do both to create an effective recruiting solution and sustain their esports programs.

As the NJCAAE continued to develop, member feedback helped shape its expansion. Two-year members wanted access to competition against four-year institutions, while four-year universities reached out to the NJCAAE seeking connections with the two-year space.

“We’ve had many NJCAAE members requesting cross-over with 4-year institutions, mentioning their frustration at having to learn different rules, structures, platforms and operations to fill this need,” King said. “It became very clear that one system is what the membership needed, and with the launch of Gateway Esports, we provide a singular source of everything they need to have that cross-over without sacrificing the integrity of the 2-year competition.”

Gateway Esports provides a single system that allows two-year members who want to compete against four-year institutions to do so while continuing to participate in their NJCAAE leagues separately from the four-year institutions.

“The major advantage is that everyone has the same rules, expectations, rules and structures,” King said. “This allows students and coaches to easily transition between the levels without having to relearn everything from the ground floor.”

The decision to create Gateway followed years of consideration, planning and review of the educational esports landscape. King said four-year universities had reached out to the NJCAAE for years because of the quality services it offers and the need for connections with the two-year space.

The NJCAAE sees Gateway as part of a larger effort to establish a sustainable pipeline for students, institutions and administrators.

“We understand that this is how administrators, institutions and students are able to be positively impacted throughout their lifetime through esports,” King said.

The organization hopes to eventually have the entire pipeline laid out in a way that allows students interested in continuing to pursue opportunities in esports and education to easily find and take the next step that is right for them.

The concept is reflected in the name Gateway itself. For King, the term represents more than a league or competition.

“To me gateway means the entry point to success and growth throughout a lifetime. No matter when you enter, you can find your pathway and future gateways.”

The NJCAAE also operates its own competitive and recruiting platforms.

“We are the only governing body with its own competitive platform and recruiting platform,” White said. “Much more to come soon on the recruiting platform!”

As Gateway Esports connects the two-year and four-year spaces, the NJCAAE continues to build a pipeline focused on stability, growth and success in esports.

“If you’re a 2-year or 4-year institution looking for an association that is focused on your success, reach out to esports@njcaa.org! We’re here to get you set up for success.”