Following the announcement by EA Sports that their video game College Football will be making a comeback after an 11-year break, many people will be thinking back to their early years.
Bill Walsh College Football, which was released in 1993 and carried the famed coach’s name for two years, launched the series.
For the 1996–1997 season, the name was changed to College Football USA; from 1998 until 2014, it was known as NCAA Football.
Conflicts between the NCAA, EA, and college athletes put the game on hold for a while. As is customary with video games, each installment since the 1997 release has included a cover athlete. But the cover athlete was not allowed to receive payment for his likeness or picture.
Also, when manipulating the athletes in each episode, players could not see their names. Reggie Bush, for instance, would be ranked as “HB No. 5,” and Tim Tebow as “QB No. 15.”
Former Pac-12 star defends conference dismantling and realignment, saying, “It’s time.”
But now that NIL is allowed, gamers won’t only know a player’s position and number on the field—they will know exactly who they are.
The game will be called College Football 25, although the release date has not yet been disclosed.
