UPDATE: Jan. 19, 2017, 12:13 p.m. EST Big Ten Network and Riot Games have officially announced their partnership.

League of Legends just made a huge step for college esports, partnering with the Big Ten Network to create a college-level League of Legends season featuring 12 schools from the Big Ten Conference, the companies announced Thursday.

The first BTN League of Legends season kicks off Jan. 30 and includes the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Wisconsin.

One match per week will be streamed on developer Riot Games' League esports website and on the Big Ten Network's website and app at 6 p.m. ET on Mondays. The finals on March 27 will be televised on the Big Ten Network from Riot's headquarters in Los Angeles.

The broadcast schedule for the BTN 'League of Legends' season. Image: Riot Games

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The format of the league is similar to other collegiate leagues. Teams will be split into East and West divisions and compete in a round robin within their respective divisions. The top four teams in each division will be seeded into a divided, single-elimination bracket, with the top team from each division meeting in the championship. The Big Ten Network champion will compete in Riot's own North American League of Legends College Championship, which features the top four college teams in North America.

Unlike traditional college sports, though, ESPN reported that until the finals, teams won't have to travel to compete, and could instead participate in online matches right from their homes or dorms.

The full-time students who compete in the new esports league will each receive $5,000 scholarships.

Although this is a big step for college esports, competitive League of Legends is no stranger to the college scene. Collegiate Star League runs competitive college seasons in multiple esports — its 2017 University League of Legends Campus Series alone has 219 participating teams.

The Big Ten Network, which is owned by the Big Ten Conference and Fox Entertainment Group, is no stranger to League of Legends either. The network hosted a collegiate League of Legends invitational in April, pitting Ohio State against Michigan State at PAX East.

This is first time developer Riot Games has partnered with a collegiate network for an official League of Legends season.

"The Big Ten universities are not only historical leaders in college athletics, they are home to some of our biggest and most passionate college League of Legends communities,” Michael Sherman, Riot's associate collegiate esports manager, said in an email statement.