Organize This: Eduardo Hernandez, National College Gaming Association

Colleges are becoming the best place to find gamers doing what they love: gaming. I had a chance to sit down with Eduardo Hernandez, the Esports Director of the National College Gaming Association (NCGA), for a few minutes and ask his opinions about colleges and organizers, as well as a little about what he’s done in the past.

Hernandez started off as the Vice President of a University League of Legends club before reaching out to the NCGA this past February. By May, he had taken the reins as the Esports Director and is involved with setting up tournaments, running them with his colleagues, and working on improving each iteration from the top down. “I help create tournaments from the ground up,” he said. “This means entry fees, prizes, how many matches, how our streams should go, how our shoutcasters should cast. I’m in charge of graphics used and distributed. In short, I oversee most if not all aspects of each tournament we hold, which is primarily League of Legends.”

The NCGA where Hernandez works, aims to be the premier tournament provider for every League of Legends player across North America. “We work on striving to better the player experience,” he continued, “in order for players to truly get a glimpse of what being a pro is with interviews, segments and inclusion of players in our media. We want to be the bridge for players to the pro scene.”

This is meant to work similar to the more common sports, like basketball and football. Starting in high school, getting into the college team, and then eventually going pro is the experience that the NCGA hopes that esports will attain. They handle League of Legends and Hearthstone, but they are constantly looking to expand into other communities and games.

NCGA, cross-country

In regards to where, he explained that they’ve been involved in several states and colleges already. “We conduct tournaments online and they are intercollegiate. Universities from California, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Oregon have participated so far. Each University fields their collegiate team to pit them against others from across the country. We also host tournaments open for anyone, student or not. Pre-made teams. Rough numbers, but I’d say it’s 70% students and 30% non-students that participate.”

When asked if there was a plan to cultivate an official team, he explained that they help individuals and full, already established teams. “As of now there are four teams that have participated regularly in our tournaments (Paladins, Team Gravitum, Infinity Gaming, and Alerion Gaming). Each have stated they have the intention of playing competitively. We have helped them with exposure and have communicated we are willing to help them branch out. Individually there is a couple of players that have attracted interest from top college teams and also have made a go at scouting grounds.”

Eduardo's Easy Do’s and Don’ts for those looking at organizing their own events

• Do make sure you keep the players and spectators in mind when making decisions.

• Do realize that there will always be room for improvement. The next tournament should always be your best.

• Always have fun! Being serious and making sure the tournaments are well run are both good ideas, but also be light hearted and create that atmosphere.

• Don’t skimp on the things that matter: The Players. If you cut corners, it will be noticed and it will hurt you.

• Don’t take things too hard. There will be mistakes and issues, but the point is to learn how to fix them as they come.

• Don’t be closed minded. You need to have an open mind and try things you wouldn't normally do.