Overwatch Collegiate Returns with Over $140K in Scholarships – How to Join the Action

Overwatch’s collegiate scene is back for the 2025, 2026 school year, and this time it’s bigger. Blizzard has teamed up with the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) to revamp the programme. That means fresh competition formats, a new varsity division, a live LAN finals, and over $140,000 USD in scholarship prizing up for grabs.

Students in the US or Canada keen to compete should start pulling a team together now. It doesn’t matter if you’re rolling with a group of mates from campus or repping your school’s official varsity line-up. There’s a spot for you this season either way.

How the Programme Works

The Overwatch Collegiate circuit is split into two semesters of play:

• Fall Homecoming 2025
• Spring Championship 2026

Players can compete in one of two main divisions:

• National Open – Open to any eligible institution in the US and Canada, perfect for friends, clubs, or schools with multiple rosters.
• Varsity – Exclusive to NACE member schools, with stricter requirements like on-campus esports facilities and only one team per school.

For NACE schools, there’s also Varsity Plus, which lets you enter extra teams in skill-based divisions.

Fall Homecoming 2025, Key Dates

• Varsity Premier – Starts 8 September 2025 (Registration closes 2 September)
• Varsity Plus – Starts 15 September 2025 (Registration closes 8 September)
• National Open – Starts 2 October 2025 (Registration closes 22 September)

Each competition runs through its regular season before heading into high-stakes playoffs, with scholarship money on the line. The Fall Homecoming alone has a combined $42,000 USD prize pool.

Spring Championship 2026

After Fall wraps up, the Spring Championship kicks off with a live LAN finals and a massive $100,000 USD in scholarships. More details will be announced later in the year, but it’s shaping up to be the big stage every team will want to reach.

How to Sign Up

1. Check your eligibility. You’ll need to be enrolled at a school in the US or Canada. Varsity teams have to come from NACE member schools specifically.
2. Create a LeagueSpot account, signing up with your verified student email. Not every school’s email domain is in LeagueSpot’s system yet. If yours isn’t listed, there’s a form to get it verified.
3. Choose your division – Open, Varsity Premier, or Varsity Plus (if eligible).

Register before the deadline – Don’t miss the cut-off dates above.

Why You Should Join

Aside from the prize money, players get exclusive Overwatch Collegiate rewards like sprays, name cards, and player icons.

More importantly, it’s a chance to build skills, represent your school, and be part of a growing esports community.

If you’re ready to make big plays and bigger memories, now’s the time to lock in your spot. Gather your teammates, register, and get set for a season of intense collegiate Overwatch competition.

You can follow updates and watch matches on Overwatch Esports and NACEsports channels across Twitch and YouTube.

You can read more about the Overwatch Collegiate programme and full competition details at Blizzard’s official announcement here