PrizePicks, the largest privately-held skill-based fantasy sports operator in North America, today announced a first-of-its-kind strategic esports program with Atlanta-based HBCU Morris Brown College (MBC) that includes the establishment of an Esports Scholarship Fund.
The two organizations will launch a multifaceted program that will help pave the way to send candidates through Morris Brown College Global Management and Applied Leadership Bachelor’s Degree program and the Esports Performance Certificate program, according to a press release.
Later this year, PrizePicks and Morris Brown will launch an internship program for MBC students to apply their classroom skills development directly to the PrizePicks’ esports division, where candidates will be able to gain experience across a variety of concentrations including esports content development, operations, analytics, and graphic design.
The initiative with Morris Brown is the latest milestone in PrizePicks’ growing esports footprint. In November 2022, PrizePicks was honored for having the ‘Best Esports Fantasy Initiative’ as part of the Tempest Awards at the Esports Business Summit.
“As an Atlanta-based company, it is paramount that we continue to invest in our local community and partner with organizations that share an affinity for providing opportunities for our local youth,” PrizePicks Co-Founder and CEO Adam Wexler said. “We were blown away by the college’s commitment towards getting their esports program off the ground and we envision great synergies between the two organizations in the years to come.”
Morris Brown College was re-accredited as a HBCU and recently rolled out its Esports Performance Certificate program. MBC also opened the doors of the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for Esports and Innovation, its state-of-the-art esports lab, which was recently upgraded and renovated by McDonald’s and REVOLT.
“We are very excited to work with PrizePicks, a pioneer in esports, to be able to offer students the opportunity to participate in our one-of-a-kind program, set up a career development pipeline through an internship program, and to gain valuable industry knowledge from their team’s deep bench of esports experts,” Dr. Kevin James, President of Morris Brown College explained. “We commend the company for their ingenuity in structuring this unique collaboration and for taking tangible action towards creating professional opportunities for local youth.”
“We also want to recognize the members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus for their efforts in making this groundbreaking initiative a reality,” said PrizePicks Head of Company Relations Steven Kerstein. “As we mature and develop as an organization, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion will continue to be a foundational pillar of our identity.”
Interested prospective students can learn more about Morris Brown College, the ‘Hard Reset’, and the MBC Esports Performance Certification Program at https://morrisbrown.edu/.
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