DJariya

BC-US--NCAA-EA Sports,1st Ld-Writethru
NCAA to stop putting name, logo on video game
Eds: Adds details and background
RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - The NCAA said Wednesday it won't allow Electronic Arts Inc. to use its logo and name in video games while it fights a lawsuit that says the governing body owes billions of dollars to former players for allowing their likenesses to be used for free.

The NCAA said it won't enter into a new contract with EA Sports beyond the current one that expires June 2014. That means NCAA Football 2014 will be the last edition of the popular game. However, it won't necessarily stop EA Sports from producing a college football video game depicting powerhouse schools such as Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon.

"Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game," the NCAA said in a statement. "They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future."

The NCAA is in the midst of a long legal battle that started with a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon.

The suit has expanded to include several former athletes who claim the NCAA and EA Sports have used their names and likenesses without compensation and demand the NCAA find a way to give players a cut of the billions of dollars earned from live broadcasts, memorabilia sales and video games.

"We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games," the NCAA said. "But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.

"The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA. The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes."

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

DJariya

So if I understand this correctly, just the NCAA logo and name can no longer be used.

So the individual schools can still be licensed.

Next year will probably be called "College Football 15"

Noonan

Without the announcers and the NCAA presentation, the game won't stand a chance even if no one else picks up the license.

Deftones

Good for them. Now EA needs to lose the NFL license so there can be true competition again.

chuckd21

At first I thought "Hooray!" but this really changes nothing.

chuckd21

Yep, nothing to see here, move along.

IIG

This is an absolute tragedy to me. As a huge college football fan, the lack of authenticity in all upcoming college football games will really be felt.

Jam Master Jay

Not really. They can still license the individual teams, conferences, bowl games, the Heisman Trophy etc. They also still have the ESPN licensing too. Think the only thing you're looking at being different is not having the NCAA in the title anymore.

chuckd21

http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/14/462...-ncaa-football

The SEC says they're out too. If that means no more SEC teams in the game, then I'm out.

XavierMike

Damn, The article says each school can make up its own mind, but I can't see anyone going against the SEC.

chuckd21

Big Ten out too. Say goodbye to this series.

PhantomStranger

The NCAA is scared to death they might have to start compensating players for the licensing money.

chuckd21

PAC-12 out too.

Maxflier

LOL, is the shit hitting the fan or what?

Drexl

Assuming they even continue to make the game, what will they call it? I can't imagine they would use something so generic as "College Football (year)."

I wonder if they might go after a coach to create a Madden counterpart like they did with Bill Walsh. Maybe Nick Saban or Bob Stoops (if the corresponding school is willing to be licensed)?

fujishig

If only Ed O'Bannon had had a successful basketball career...

DJariya

The last I heard it was going to be called "College Football 15"

With all those conferences pulling out, you might as well cancel the series.

I'm a sports gamer, but not so much for college sports. If the NCAA was so scared of getting sued by all these former players, why don't they tell EA to not use the exact numbers for a lot of the star roster players?

Decker

Maybe they can call it "AAC - Mountain West Conference Football Showdown 2015". Who wouldn't be excited to spend $60 on that?

beesonosu

That's some interesting news! If I were them, I'd release a College Football 15 with only the teams who sign on, and then concentrate on giving the player at home full customization over logos, colors, names, numbers, school bio, etc. Hell, allow them to even download any song they wish as their fight song - and then make it super easy to upload your newly created "fake" team or league for download. Then, within a day or so, anyone that has the inclination to download all of the teams who didn't sign on can do so, plus there's the ability to download old conferences, future conferences, classic teams, all-decade teams specific to conferences or even individual schools, etc. But maybe they have all of this already, it's been a few years since I've really played an EA sports title. I'd be interested in it, that's for sure.

Decker

I'm kinda at the opposite end here. I'm suddenly tempted to make NCAA 14 my very first college football game because it might be my last chance.

I'm still fuzzy about the plaintiffs' claim. The players weren't actually in the game but because you could make a Bush #5 for USC or a Young #10 at Texas, these players were somehow harmed financially? Is that the gist of it? Isn't that a claim that anyone who ever played any NCAA football game could conceivably make?

Deftones

It's not that they were harmed, it is that their likeness was used repeatedly and they did not receive any compensation for it.

dsa_shea

The players you can create or edit in the game don't share any real "likeness" to the real person. The faces were about as cookie cutter as they come. Now, you can't control what an individual does by editing the name and number.

Decker

That's just it, isn't it? Was their likeness used intentionally, or were just generic body types and faces used? That was my understanding, though I've never played one of these games.

dsa_shea

Well, bodies of athletes are nothing unique unless they have specific tattoos or scars. As far as the faces go, I always thought they were quite generic.

nickdawgy

So the Pac-12, SEC, and Big Ten are out?

EA Sports presents College Football 15, with such conferences as the Pacific Dozen, Close to South But Not Quite, and the Large One Zero.