PlayVS and Stay Plugged In Partner to Bring Scholarship and Career Opportunities to High School Esports

High school esports has continued its rapid growth across the country, taking hold in more schools than ever before. Embracing an esports program has proven benefits, from noted academic improvements to critical thinking, sportsmanship, and career opportunities gained among students. As adoption among high schools continues to grow, so do the opportunities and pathways available to participate in esports at the next level. For example, earlier this month, PlayVS featured Jabari Salaam, a Bob Jones High School senior, whose success playing Madden on PlayVS for the past three seasons for his high school esports program has translated into esports scholarship offers from three different colleges. 

"Since the launch of our school's inaugural season four years ago, esports has grown by leaps and bounds on my campus,” said April Coats, Head Coach, Northside High School, Fort Smith Arkansas. "As the esports movement becomes more popular in my district and region, I have realized that finding opportunities for my players to continue competing at the collegiate level is not as clear-cut as with other traditional, established sports. With PlayVS establishing a partnership with Stay Plugged In, I feel very confident that I will be able to better understand how to help my athletes find pathways to continue competing at the collegiate level and beyond."

PlayVS’ coaches agree that participation in its esports programs positively impacts their players. This collaboration ensures that coaches, parents, and athletes have the resources on hand to help unlock scholarship opportunities to participate in the sport they're passionate about into college

Founded in 2020, Stay Plugged In (SPIN), has been providing the platform for students to compete in front of a network of hundreds of college esports programs and has become the go-to source for collegiate and high school recruiting opportunities. At the core of Stay Plugged In’s approach is to stay focused on educating the students and their families on what opportunities lie ahead collegiately in the esports space.

"At Stay Plugged In, we have always been committed to helping students find opportunities through esports," said Rick Suarez, Managing Director, Stay Plugged In. "This partnership with PlayVS will enable us to have an even larger reach to help continue to provide a clear pathway of opportunity for students who are passionate about esports, whether that pathway is to college, to the workforce, or both. We are excited to get started with the team at PlayVS as they continue to pioneer solutions that support amateur esports."

Feature Kai Hickey 

“During my senior year of high school, I was really focused on my job at UPS as I knew that would help me in the real world once I graduated. After playing Rocket League on the Stay Plugged In platform in a recruiting tournament, I had a number of college coaches reach out. I worked with the recruiting specialist at SPIN to really help me pick the right school for me. I never knew that college could even be a possibility for me. With help from SPIN, I also worked on my video editing skills as an intern. Now I compete with my teammates at Columbia College with the hope of doing more video editing as a career when I graduate, and the best part is how supportive my parents have been. Esports has made a big impact on my life.” -

Schools interested in starting an esports program can sign up at PlayVS.com.

How PlayVS x Stay Plugged In Will Work: 

• Stay Plugged In will host two Free PlayVS premier Showcase recruiting events per year specifically for PlayVS students.
• Signing Day Videos, player highlights, and championship recap content.
• Exclusive college recruiter participation at Showcase and Championship events.
• Dedicated educational resources created for PlayVS users, and access to Stay Plugged In Carry2College recruiting events.

ABOUT PLAYVS

PlayVS is pushing high school esports competition forward with a mission to provide gamers with the best competitive and community-driven experiences. PlayVS has become the trusted and chosen platform in the United States and Canada to power High School and through strategic partnerships with the NFHS Network, the Special Olympics and 23 state associations, the PlayVS High School platform allows students to compete for state and regional championships. Additionally, partnerships with the top game publishers enable the PlayVS platform to provide today's most popular games to players. To learn more visit playvs.com

ABOUT STAY PLUGGED IN

Stay Plugged In (SPIN) is the premier esports recruiting platform for college scholarships. They are a Charlotte, North Carolina-based esports company that services the entirety of North America. Stay Plugged In began operations in 2020 to educate students and parents on the opportunities available to esports athletes both academically and professionally. The esports recruits that pass through the Stay Plugged In program are amongst the most well-rounded players and professional individuals on the market, making them the most versatile and sought-after talent in the industry. Their mantra, “Better Player. Better Person. Better Recruit.” perfectly sums up their mission of educating students to be more marketable and better prepared to best take advantage of the connections provided by Stay Plugged In and their collegiate network. Stay Plugged In has fostered connections to students from several continents including North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Currently sitting as the industry leader in providing unique and innovative esports recruiting events, projects range from online recruiting leagues to virtual showcases, and the providers of esports recruiting LANs. Stay Plugged In is the go-to source for esports scholarship opportunities. For more information go to staypluggedin.gg or reach out to info@staypluggedin.gg.