EA Sports announces new college football title after eight-year hiatus

For the last eight years, Madden NFL has been the singular football simulation in gaming, but it’s getting company with the return of a college football title developed by EA Sports.

The rebooted series was announced on social media on Tuesday, along with a new name, EA Sports College Football, and the teaser, “For those who never stopped believing.”

Details, including release date, are scarce, with EA Sports targeting a new entry into the franchise to hit shelves “in the next couple of years,” according to a release.

The timing of the news, on the other hand, is a lot less speculative.

Why is EA Sports bringing back NCAA … er, College Football?

EA was more or less forced to drop NCAA Football from its catalog in 2013 over a lawsuit filed by student-athletes arguing they were not being compensated for the use of their likenesses. While the games did not contain players’ names or photos — prohibited under NCAA rules — details such as jersey numbers and physical traits were based on real-life counterparts.

The lawsuit was settled, and EA shelved the game indefinitely.

There’s been a growing push for the NCAA to allow student-athletes to earn money for their likeness though, with college sports’ main governing body potentially enacting the new rule as soon as the coming 2021-22 academic calendar year, according to reports.

So, in theory, EA Sports College Football could at long last feature real college athletes again, but for the first time, possibly even use their names and photographs.

Much still needs to happen before real players return in any form, and according to EA’s press release, it is prepared to go forward with its new College Football game with completely fictional rosters for the time being. Even if it were to come to that though, the momentum for rule changes is such that this would likely be a short-term solution.

No shortage of enthusiasm for College Football

Anybody who recalls the strong following NCAA Football had will not be surprised to learn the announcement has already generated a great deal of excitement.

Even though it’s made by the same company, some gamers preferred NCAA to Madden, whether because they were bigger college football fans or simply felt it was a better experience.

And since EA snuffed out its competition in the pro game by signing an exclusivity deal with the league to permanently sideline the NFL 2K series, NCAA Football was effectively Madden’s only competition from 2005 until 2013.

Observations on EA’s big surprise

There’s something to be said for reviving the College Football franchise for next-generation consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Some of the stadiums are tantamount to football cathedrals, and the pageantry of the game — the mascots, the marching bands, the obscure traditions — are things you don’t see in Madden because you don’t see them in the NFL. There’s little doubt the game’s visual presentation will be masterful for that reason.

Yet, there’s a reason NCAA Football disappeared, and it wasn’t just repercussions of the lawsuit, which included entire conferences pulling out. It’s unclear how much of an appetite there is to play a football game with real schools, but imaginary players. People care about the names on the field.

EA Sports clearly sees the writing on the wall with the NCAA rules forbidding players from making money. It’s probably why the game is going to distance itself from the old name. By the time College Football is ready to ship in 2022 or ’23, that issue might be resolved, at which point it will instantly become a franchise worth reviving.

Lead image credit: EA