Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2023 and has been updated.
EA’s NCAA Football cover stars operated on a different principle for a while compared to the spotlight athletes in other sports games. NCAA rules forbade college athletes from appearing on the cover, so you nearly always saw an NFL rookie sporting their jersey from a few years previously – usually with at least one trophy or high recognition under their belt as well. EA wasn’t afraid to get a bit silly with the NCAA franchise either. At one point, the publisher honored the community’s voice and made a mascot the star of an NCAA game.
The franchise came to a messy end in 2014, as licensing issues and debates over the appropriate use of player likenesses brought EA’s college football days to a halt.
But now? We’re so back. Here’s a walk through 20 years of NCAA Football cover stars and a look at College Football 25.
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL 25:
- Teams we’re picking for Dynasty mode, Road to Glory and more
- Colorado’s Travis Hunter mocked his own offensive line during a College Football 25 live stream
Bill Walsh College Football ‘94 – Bill Walsh
Before EA had the license to use actual college names and teams, there was Bill Walsh College Football, named after the award-winning, eponymous coach. Walsh had left the NFL by the time EA’s first college football game came around, following a spectacular Super Bowl victory in 1988 and entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bill Walsh College Football ‘95 – Still Bill Walsh
Not much more to say about this one. Nothing major changed at the time for Walsh, though the in-game teams did feature the actual real-life college rosters from 1993.
College Football USA 96 – Tommy the Trojan mascot
USA College Football’s big draw was having all contemporary NCAA teams in the game, over 100 of them, and some official NCAA tournaments as well.
College Football USA 97 – Tommie Frazer
University of Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazer was the first actual athlete to grace the cover of EA’s NCAA games, though this one was still rocking the USA College Football name. It launched to slightly less acclaim than its predecessor, thanks to fewer features and an appallingly bad SNES game port.
NCAA Football 98 – Danny Wuerffel
EA finally settled into the NCAA Football name in 1997 and slapped Heisman Trophy winner and University of Flordia alumnus Danny Wuerffel on the cover. The PS1 game version was the problem for critics this time, as they noted the outdated graphics stood out unmistakably compared to other versions. On the bright side, this was the first NCAA Football game to introduce Dynasty Mode, where you could take a team through a full four years of glory or utter embarrassment, depending on how you played.
NCAA Football 99 – Charles Woodson
Charles Woodson was the first non-quarterback to feature on an NCAA Football cover. Like College Football 97, this one boasted few improvements, but they were enough that PC Gamer considered it a better offering than that year’s Madden.
NCAA Football 2000 – Ricky Williams
University of Texas runningback and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams appeared on the cover of NCAA Football 2000, a game that changed quite a bit for the franchise. In addition to increasing the number of teams, EA finally bumped up the number of bowls from four to 23 and even added the option to edit new plays.
NCAA Football 2001 – Shaun Alexander
NCAA Football 2001 made some big changes to the formula and put Shaun Alexander, University of Alabama runningback, on the front of it. This time, you could create your own school and players and even take part in playoffs at the end of a Dynasty Mode run.
NCAA Football 2002 – Chris Weinke
Florida State University’s Chris Weinke took center stage this time for a game that, despite rolling back some of its predecessor’s features, ended up taking the title of “best college football game ever made.” Critics overlooked the lack of create-a-player-and-school options and praised 2002’s deep stat tracking and expansive skill systems.
NCAA Football 2003 – Joey Harrington
Joey Harrington of the University of Oregon made his EA sports cover debut, and 2003 fared even better than 2002. It brought back player creation options, added trophies, Mascot Matches, and a whole lot more.
NCAA Football 2004 – Carson Palmer
University of Southern California quarterback Carson Palmer showed up for this one, with the return of Dynasty Mode in tow and some welcome new features as well. NCAA Football 2004 added a classics mode, where you could replay classic matches from NCAA history – a feature that’s become a staple in most modern sports games – and improved pretty much every animation as well.
NCAA Football 2005 – Larry Fitzgerald
Larry Fitzgerald represented the University of Pittsburgh in this late-gen refinement. While it didn’t tweak the formula as significantly as 2004, it did introduce home stadium advantages, more dynamic crowds, and a metric ton of teams to pick from.
NCAA Football 06 – Desmond Howard
Desmond Howard was unique in the franchise’s history. The University of Michigan player was the only one in nearly 10 years not to be an NFL rookie by the time he featured on the cover. NCAA Football 06 was the penultimate game to launch on the PS2 and original Xbox, and it added an in-depth career mode and the option to recruit new freshmen and even mid-season picks.
NCAA Football 07 – Reggie Bush
Heisman winner and University of Southern California player Reggie Bush was the player who bridged the console generation, appearing on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions as well as the PS2 and Xbox ones. 07 really didn’t do that much new. It refined the deep Campus Legend simulator and added a momentum meter that boosted everyone’s performance.
NCAA Football 08 – Jared Zabransky
Boise State broke the pattern of repeating universities and saw star player Jared Zabransky on the cover of NCAA Football 2008. 2008 suffered the most from EA Sports syndrome – which is to say, it was kind of the same thing as the previous one. Fewer noticeable improvements and alterations meant that, while it still scored well, it didn’t have quite the warm reception of the last few games before it.
NCAA Football 09 – A lot of people
EA decided a different player should appear on the cover for each version of the game, so you ended up with:
- DeSean Jackson – California (PS2)
- Matt Ryan – Boston College (PS3)
- Owen Schmitt – West Virginia (PSP)
- Darren McFadden – Arkansas (Xbox 360)
The Wii version starred Sparty the Mascot, winner of a fan poll EA held with the promise that the victor would live on the Wii game forever.
NCAA Football 10 – Even more people
EA split its star power for the 2009 game as well. This time, we got:
- Brian Orakpo – Texas (PS2)
- Brian Johnson – Utah (PS3)
- Marc Sanchez – MSC (PSP)
- Michael Crabtree – Texas Tech (Xbox 360)
The graphics didn’t inspire critics, but the sheer possibilities of the new Team Builder mode, where you could put together high school teams, college teams from the past, and quite a bit more.
NCAA Football 11 – Tim Tebow
The University of Florida’s Tim Tebow ushered in a game of big changes. 11 featured online Dynasty Mode play, new animations, better movements and lighting, and much more. Sure, the existing modes were pretty much the same, but when everything else was this good, it was an easy drawback to overlook.
NCAA Football 12 – Mark Ingram II
NCAA Football 12 featured Mark Ingram II from the University of Alabama, after the Heisman Trophy winner won another fan poll, but EA included two alternate covers as well:
- Nick Fairley (Auburn)
- DeMarco Murray (Oklahoma)
- Jake Locker (Washington)
NCAA Football 12 boasted a much deeper version of Dynasty mode, and while critics appreciated its refinements all around, consumers were rather more divided and expressed disappointment over the lack of new features.
NCAA Football 13 – Robert Griffin III and Barry Sanders
Baylor’s Robert Griffin III shared the cover with Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders for this one. Critics expressed similar views as consumers and faulted the game for doing too little to differentiate itself from NCAA Football 12.
NCAA Football 14 – Denard Robinson
University of Michigan’s Denard Robinson closed out EA’s NCAA run with NCAA Football 14, and it was one of the least well-received games in the series. Dated visuals, fewer innovations than usual, and poor online multiplayer functionality closed out an otherwise impressive two decades of college football.
College Football 25 — Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter and Donovan Edwards
After a painfully long hiatus, the game returned in 2024 with College Football 25.
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL 25:
- 10 incredible new details from EA College Football 25’s Dynasty Mode you need to see
- EA Sports found a song that sounds eerily similar to Enter Sandman for Virginia Tech’s entrance
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
