When I was a child, I spent hours and hours playing NCAA Basketball for the SNES. At the time, my grandmother and my mother had a custody agreement that saw me going out to stay with her for Christmas and the summer. She lived in Arkansas at the time, and it just so happened that the Razorbacks were one of the best teams in college basketball when the title was released. I took that Razorback team to the NCAA title, and my only loss in the game was to Duke in double OT. Ever since then, I’ve had a passion for the NCAA titles.
After the success of EA College Football, it seemed only a matter of time before EA would announce the return of College Basketball, as well. Well, that day has arrived. Yesterday, June 30th, EA tweeted “Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back. #CBB #ItsInTheGame” and it included a picture of a basketball with EA Sports’ logo on the ball. The tweet was clearly stating that EA College Basketball will be returning, now that EA has figured out the legal paperwork and has a functioning system for players to opt in or opt out of appearances.
Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back. #CBB #ItsInTheGame pic.twitter.com/iBNhGxn2yj
— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 30, 2025
Believe it or not, the last time we had an NCAA basketball game was 2009, and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin was the cover athlete. College football titles got an extra four years, and ultimately only stopped because of the legislation against the NCAA. The lack of college football and basketball titles has had fans absolutely desperate for better days. The response to EA College Football’s announcement proved that fans had an appetite for this content, and EA is now poised to deliver.
I truthfully think that a college basketball game could have a lot more depth to it than is possible with football. With the smaller rosters, you can focus on every little detail in recruiting and storybuilding. Whether your player ought to go pro or go overseas should also be a solid component of this title. The game has changed so much with the inclusion of NLI and social media, not to mention that EA will finally have its chance at a narrative-driven basketball game since 2K has the NBA on lockdown. Should EA do a better job than 2K, it could create some interesting decisions for the NBA down the line.
It’s been a while since collegiate games were flooding the market, and I’m thrilled to see them back on the market with players getting their fair share. My moral objection to these titles was always rooted in concern for the players. EA has found a way to make players happy and get the product out the consumers at the same time. It would even be cool to see legacy teams return at some point, with those players getting a small check for their inclusion. How cool would it be to take that Corliss Williamson Arkansas team and pit them against the 2025 Florida Gators, who just won the National Championship?
While the game is set to return, don’t expect to see it until 2028 at the soonest. Unless EA has been secretly working on this project, getting a whole new batch of NLIs going, especially since D1 college basketball is VASTLY different than D1 college football in terms of who qualifies, and even who wins it all. Additionally, there’s also development time, story-writing time, and getting the captures done on all the athletes. At the absolute soonest, maybe we see something in 2027, but I’m guessing 2028. We’ll keep you updated right here on BSO Entertainment.
