EA Sports Announces New College Football Video Game
It has been eight years since the last time EA Sports released an NCAA football game, but that looks to change as the video game publisher announced on Tuesday that EA Sports College Football will be returning.
Though it is not yet known when NCAA Football will exactly return, this is certainly a step in the right direction, one that many fans have been waiting for since its untimely end with NCAA Football 2014.
According to EA Sports vice president and general manager, Daryl Holt, via ESPN, the game will feature over 100 teams in the game, partnering with collegiate licensing company CLC, giving the game all of the traditions, uniforms and playbooks to go into the game.
"As we look for the momentum that we're building on in sports, it all starts with the passion of our fans and the opportunities of what they are interested in," Holt said via ESPN. "I don't think a visit where I go outside wearing a piece of EA Sports branded apparel, that someone doesn't go, 'Hey, when is college football coming back?'"
The Florida Gators were recently one of the ten teams featured in EA Sports Madden 2020 Face of the Franchise Mode. Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was also a cover athlete for NCAA Football 11.
In 2013, EA announced that it would continue to develop and publish college football games, however, they will no longer include the NCAA names and marks.
"Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next-generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, leagues and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports," said EA Sports vice president Andrew Wilson in 2013.
That, however, never came to fruition after the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced that it would not allow EA to use their trademarks. Since then, there has not been a true college football video game, at least not representative of what fans had grown to love for years.
In 2019, however, the NCAA's board of governors voted unanimously to institute new rules allowing for athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness. This could have an effect on how and when the game will be made. The changes were set to take place in January.
It will take some time for the use of names and faces of players to come to fruition, however, don't be surprised to see more Orange and Blue on a video game console near you sometime soon.
