The BIG EAST Esports championships will be played in-person in March of 2023 at the Esports Park on the campus of Butler University, the Conference announced Thursday.

The 2022-23 Rocket League™ EGF/BIG EAST Tournament and the spring 2023 League of Legends™ BIG EAST Championship will both take place March 24-26 at the brand new facility in Indianapolis.

“The BIG EAST Conference has sponsored esports competitions for the past several years, and we are very excited to be staging the first in-person conference championships for our gamers at Esports Park next spring,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman.  “We applaud Butler’s leadership in this area and expect this spectacular state-of-the-art facility to serve as the perfect venue for our esports participants this year and beyond.”

Opening its doors to the community on Friday, October 21, the 7,500 square-foot Esports Park serves as a hub for tech, gaming, and academic communities in Indianapolis. Inside the state-of-the-art facility, visitors will find high-performance gaming gear, event and coworking spaces, a café, a studio and production room, along with offices for Butler’s partner organizations. For more information on hours of operations, in addition to membership rates, click here.

“The Butler University community is proud and excited to showcase our new Esports Park during the BIG EAST Conference Championships in March 2023,” Butler University President James Danko said. “This represents the first of many future competitions that will continue to establish Butler University and the City of Indianapolis as a national leader in esports and sports technology.”

The League of Legends™ championship format will update to a four-team split bracket, with the opening round scheduled on Saturday, March 25, with the championship on Sunday, March 26. A practice day is scheduled for March 24. The BIG EAST League of Legends™ Champion will receive the Conference automatic qualifier into the 2023 Collegiate League of Legends™ Tournament, hosted by RIOT Games.

Following the conclusion of the Rocket League™ regular season, all nine BIG EAST programs will compete for the Conference Championship.  The top two finishers in the Rocket League™ championship will receive automatic bids into the EGF Rocket League™ National Championship.

In the spring of 2022, Seton Hall swept both the League of Legends™ and Rocket League™ championships.