United States Academic Esports League & Future Business Leaders of America

Official Sponsors of the FBLA 2024 Academic Esports Competition

The Nation’s First Academic Esports Competition

Harness students' passion for video games to turn gamers into makers with a platform that educates and excites in a nationally recognized academic competition.

United States Academic Esports League
An esports team collectively celebrating a win in an esports tournament.

Competition Overview

The FBLA Esports Competition will test a team’s ability to research and create strategies to effectively compete in a virtual esports competition. Teams will submit a research paper on the provided esports topic, compete in an esports tournament, and create a presentation highlighting strategies used and lessons learned.

paper and pen

Round 1

Teams create an esports-focused research paper exploring various topics

Tournament bracket with trophy

Round 2

Rocket League bracket-style competition between FBLA participating schools

person giving a presentation

Round 3

Collaborative presentation focused on team growth and developed skills

Badge/certification icon

Awards Ceremony

Invitation to the National Conference and awards for the top ten teams

Competition Timeline

Our award-winning, standards-based curriculum is designed to turn your gamers into makers!

Fall 2024

Rocket League

  • September 1: Registration opens for the Fall eSports competition.
  • October 18: Registration closes. All interested participants must have registered by this date.
  • November 18: Round 1 – Research Paper Due
  • December (1st – 3rd week): Round 2 – Game play begins for the eSports competition.
  • January (2nd – 3rd week): Round 3 – Presentations (Invitations sent to the top 10)
  • January 2025: Fall Winners Announced

Spring 2025

Smash Crew

  • January 1: Registration opens for the Spring eSports competition.
  • February 7: Registration closes. All interested participants must have registered by this date.
  • February 28: Round 1 – Research Paper Due
  • Feb 24th – March 7th: Round 2 – Game play for the eSports competition.
  • March 17 – April 8: Round 3 – Presentations (Invitations sent to the top 10)
  • April 30: Spring Winners Announced

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is the largest business Career and Technical Student Organization in the world. Each year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business.

FBLA inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences.

FBLA logo

Learn more on the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) website.

FBLA Website

Selected Competition Title

Rocket League logo

A high-powered hybrid of soccer and cars

Team with leader in center

Compete in Teams of 3

Level up your team's success with the FBLA Academic Bundle

Elevate your team's path to triumph with the FBLA Academic Bundle, where we firmly believe that gaming should be a catalyst for your students' growth in the realms of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and STEM. Our bundle is meticulously tailored to give your team a competitive edge, propelling them ahead of the competition. It includes:

Round 1

Tailored content that unveils the advantages and step-by-step guidance for initiating an esports team. Provides insights into the technology, roles, and essential skills required, while learning how to steer clear of potential pitfalls.

Round 2

Elevated gameplay with additional weekly matches in Rocket League, designed to sharpen skills to perfection. Access to extra content focusing on advanced gaming strategies to outmaneuver opponents.

Round 3

Access to stylized templates and engaging prompts to craft and deliver a dynamic presentation that revolves around the formation, practice, and performance of your esports team.

Contact Us To Learn More
High school boy playing videogames on his desktop computer.

Take your students beyond the FBLA Competition with 120+ hours of Curriculum

Our award-winning, standards-based curriculum is designed to turn your gamers into makers!

(45+ hours)

Comprehensive Esports Toolkit

Start and manage an esports team at your school

  • Starting an Esports Team
  • Regular Practice
  • Competitive Gaming
  • Social-Emotional Learning

(45+ hours)

Career Exploration in Esports

Prepare your students with CTE Aligned career pathways

  • Careers in Esports
  • Education Requirements
  • How to Apply for Internships
  • Skills for Success

(30 hours)

Intro to Game Development

Use gaming as a gateway to coding with no prior experience

  • Leverages the excitement of creating games
  • Embedded STEM Connections
  • HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Students design visually impressive web applications

Contact us to see how your team would benefit from the FBLA Academic Bundle

Get in Touch
Careers in Esports graphic

Career Exploration

Expose your students to a variety of careers in Esports, from management and media to hardware and IT

Exclusive Live Webinars and Q&A with Industry Experts

Every month, we host live webinars with esports industry experts to give our students the insider info on how to turn their passion for gaming into high-paying careers. USAEL students get exclusive access to live Q&As with our experts. Here are just a few of the experts and companies we are going to host:

USAEL Careers in Esports webinar series

Testimonials

The biggest thing that I've learned through working with the students and going through the curriculum is building a team and working on communication skills. Those are skills that not only help them within the classroom but they can also take outside of school and into the real world.

Steven Van Smaalen

Esports Teacher | Santiago M.S.

We live in a digital world, our kids are fully engrained into it, why not make it available and why not grow with them?

Carmen Crosse

Asst. Superintendent | Soccoro ISD

It's not just kids playing video games. There's more to it. Don't be afraid to try something new. It can really give students who don't have a place to fit in an area where this is their forte. Something that will help them connect in the education process.

Jim D'Agostino

Principal | Orange USD

Points of Contact

Questions about the competition or FBLA membership?

Contact Mike to learn more about FBLA.

Point of contact photo

Mike Hyatt

Development Manager

mhyatt@fbla.org

Questions about Academic Curriculum and the USAEL?

Contact Jill to bring the benefits of esports to your campus.

picture of Jill

Jill Ranucci Ph.D.

CTE Specialist

+1-520-982-6411

jillr@masterycoding.com