Currently, Cxmmunity’s flagship program is the first competitive esports league for HBCUs and it has opened the doors for 35 schools to compete on a national level.

As the nonprofit began to see esports at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) pick-up momentum, Cxmmunity attracted more partnerships such as Microsoft, Amazon-owned Twitch, Verizon, Comcast, the United Negro College Fund, Evil Geniuses, DTLR and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. These partnerships became helpful to create a stream of revenue that was previously non-existent to students and institutions. Now opportunities to generate money have become accessible through brand sponsorships and media rights.

In addition, partnerships have enabled Cxmmunity to fulfill its mission to provide equitable resources to HBCUs. In June 2021, it was announced that they worked with Verizon to facilitate $1 million for esports labs to be housed at five HBCUs and scholarships for women with STEM majors.

“The largest barrier to entry as it relates to esports is personal computer gaming (PC),” Peay told AfroTech. “In the esports industry, to be recognized or taken seriously, you want to play on a PC. Growing up young and in a Black household, you rarely have a PC or a let alone a household computer to play video games. So, it was important to take some of those soft sponsorship dollars and build actual esports labs at some of our HBCUs.”

As the year comes to a close, Cxmmunity will provide students one more treat as they are set to host a 16-team NBA 2k Tournament, which will begin before the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic.

As AfroTech previously reported, Michael B. Jordan, MaC Venture Capital and Serena Ventures (an investment firm owned by Serena Williams) will be joining forces with the college basketball showcase designed to promote HBCU culture and funnel opportunities for students and alumni. The winner of Cxmmunity’s single-elimination competition will attend the showcase at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Dec. 18.

Cxmmunity

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