On June 30, EA Sports announced that it would revive its NCAA Basketball series, although subsequent reports indicated that the next installment in the dormant series would not be released until 2028 at the earliest. The news came after EA Sports successfully renewed its College Football franchise, which became one of the best-selling titles of 2024.
From 1998 to 2009, EA Sports released annual installments of its NCAA Basketball series, also known until 2008 as NCAA March Madness. Much like its NCAA Football counterpart, the NCAA Basketball franchise featured teams from across NCAA Division I, from large programs like Duke and Kansas to smaller schools like Gonzaga. The NCAA Basketball video game series was discontinued in 2009 due to low sales. However, that has not stopped fans of college sports from supporting new game releases, as EA Sports College Football 25 went on to become the second-best-selling game of 2024 on all major platforms, trailing only Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
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With college sports simulators making a comeback following a 2021 Supreme Court case involving the use of an athlete's name, image, and likeness (NIL), EA Sports gave fans some confirmation of its plans. Following EA Sports' social media posts that it was rebooting the NCAA Basketball series, a report from Matt Brown of Extra Points (which was corroborated by Chris Vannini of The Athletic) stated that the success of College Football 25 spurred EA to pursue a revival of its NCAA Basketball series. A memo was sent out by the College Licensing Company (CLC) on June 26 to various college conferences. According to the CLC's memo, the company recommended that the college conferences accept EA Sports' proposal for a college basketball game project, which is targeted to launch in 2028 at the earliest. A source confirmed in Brown's report that the NCAA Basketball game project would include a total of 730 teams across NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball programs.
EA Sports Is Bringing Back Its NCAA Basketball Franchise
- EA Sports is bringing back its NCAA Basketball franchise in 2028 at the earliest.
- Reports state that a proposal was made to several college conferences concerning the project.
- The proposal was made following the runaway success of EA Sports College Football 25.
- 730 NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball teams will be featured in the game.
As for EA Sports' current plans, the imminent arrival of College Football 26 will pick up where last year's revival left off. With new features coming to College Football 26, including improved play-calling, dynamic substitutions, and more diverse blocking and coverage systems to choose from, fans looking to experience the thrills of a virtual college stadium will have different forms of content to enjoy.
While the NCAA Basketball series can be considered a retro basketball franchise due to the gap in releases, fans will not have to wait much longer to hit the college courts once more. It remains to be seen when EA Sports will reveal more information.
- Date Founded
- May 27, 1982
- Headquarters
- Redwood City, California, United States
- CEO
- Andrew Wilson
- Subsidiaries
- EA Sports, Respawn Entertainment, BioWare, EA Vancouver, DICE, Codemasters, EA Mobile
- Known For
- FIFA, EA Sports UFC, Battlefield, Dragon Age, The Sims