EA’s NCAA Football games started back in 1993 and had a huge following ever since. The popularity, game play, and fans rivaled the Madden NFL line. The last installment of the game was NCAA Football 14 which was released in 2013. February 2, 2021, an eight year hiatus, EA announced the return of the classic line of games. The reason for the return of the game is the reason the game ended: the athletes. 

It started in July 2009 when former and current collegiate athletes filed a class-action lawsuit. Ed O’Bannon, former UCLA basketball player, led the way and brought up how EA used his and many other’s likeness in their games. To be within NCAA’s guidelines, EA would have the number and position of a player as their last name. Although EA did not include their names, they had the exact height and handedness of the players in the video game. EA wanted to pay the athletes but knew they would violate NCAA rules, so they left the case and agreed to a $400 million settlement.

August 8, 2014, court ruled that that the NCAA violated antitrust laws. NCAA lost their college football television rights and paid the plaintiffs $42.2 million. Soon after, EA announced the end of the NCAA Football line of games.

EA’s timing on bringing the game back couldn’t be more perfect. California is going to start paying college athletes and talks between Congress and the NCAA are continuing on the NIL Bill. 

The game will now go by EA College Football. It is unclear if it will be a remastered version of NCAA Football 14 or a brand new game. The game is set to release in July 2023.