College & University Team Rules

Colleges, universities, community colleges, and technical institutions may enter teams through an approved esports program, athletic department, academic program, student organization, institutional foundation, or other authorized department. Before registration is completed, the institution must designate:

• The official institution and program name
• An authorized institutional representative
• The official five-player roster
• The approved use of institutional names and trademarks
• The institutional account receiving the program portion
• A compliance contact for player eligibility
• The treatment of substitutions and alternate players

College-affiliated teams compete under SEA's standard gameplay, advancement, Wildcard, ProStatus, conduct, safety, and eligibility rules.

The institution remains responsible for confirming compliance with its own policies and with any applicable NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, conference, scholarship, student-activity, immigration, or similar requirements. NCAA eligibility and amateurism requirements vary by division and by the student's status, while NAIA rules follow a separate structure. The institution's compliance office — not SEA — determines whether an individual student may accept a direct prize.

Money generated through a college-affiliated team's merchandise store is separate from tournament prize money.

No merchandise proceeds are paid directly to an individual student, parent, coach, faculty adviser, or team member. All school allocations are paid to the approved school beneficiary designated before the store begins.

Approved beneficiaries include:

• The school or school district
• The school's esports or student-activity account
• The school athletic fund
• A school foundation
• An authorized nonprofit booster organization

For ordinary sponsor-linked merchandise sold through a college-affiliated team store, Eligible Merchandise Margin is allocated under SEA's standard structure:

The School Team Share belongs to the represented school program and is not divided among individual students. The Sponsor Activation Pool supports the team's earned sponsorship status and related partner activations under SEA's general rules.

Eligible Merchandise Margin means collected merchandise revenue remaining after approved costs associated with:

• Product production
• Customization
• Fulfillment
• Payment processing
• Refunds
• Returns
• Chargebacks
• Applicable reserves

Sales tax and separately charged shipping are excluded.

When a college- or university-affiliated team earns a monetary championship award, the award is divided as follows:

Twenty-five percent is paid to the institution's approved:

• Esports program
• Student-activity account
• Academic program
• Athletic fund
• Institutional foundation
• Other authorized institutional account

The institutional portion is restricted for the benefit of the represented program.

Seventy-five percent constitutes the College Player Prize Pool. Unless the published tournament rules state otherwise, the pool is divided equally among the five eligible players who competed as the official winning roster: one Team Leader and four additional team players.

The College Player Prize Pool is awarded for competitive achievement. It is not represented as name, image, and likeness compensation.

Any separate activity involving advertising, endorsements, appearances, sponsor content, merchandise promotion, livestream services, social-media services, or another commercial use of a player's identity requires a separate written agreement with defined services and compensation.

A college player's award remains earned even when immediate payment requires additional institutional approval. SEA may place the player's allocation on a compliance hold when the player is governed by:

• NCAA, NAIA, or NJCAA rules
• Conference or institutional restrictions
• Athletic scholarship terms
• Immigration or visa restrictions
• International tax requirements
• Another applicable participation or eligibility rule

The institution may confirm that:

• Direct payment is permitted.
• Payment must be made through an institutionally approved structure.
• Payment must be restricted to education.
• Payment must be deferred until the applicable restriction ends.

Direct college-player prizes may constitute taxable income. Before payment, SEA may require:

• Form W-9 or applicable foreign-person documentation
• Taxpayer identification information
• Proof of identity and age
• Institutional compliance approval
• International-student or immigration confirmation

Prize recipients are responsible for applicable federal, state, local, and international taxes. SEA reports and withholds amounts as required by law. International players may be subject to U.S. withholding, treaty rules, visa limitations, and institutional international-student requirements.