The premier college football game has had it's swan song. The NCAA has announced that EA Sports has not renewed the licensing agreement that allows the developer to use the NCAA name and brand for any and all games. This means that NCAA Football 13 may be the last game for the franchise, unless a new deal is struck in the future. The news comes from the NCAA itself, who released a statement saying that they have chosen not to renew the contract with EA:
"The NCAA has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA's name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. 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 also explained several details about the deal, including that each university within the NCAA can decide if they wish to seek to continue the relationship with EA:
"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. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future."
It is interesting that the NCAA would decide cut ties so suddenly with the franchise, especially because the franchise has been quite lucrative and well received by critics. One potential factor, however, could be the recent lawsuits against the Madden football series concerning the names and images of former NFL players. The NCAA could be concerned that a similar lawsuit could hit them, which would explain its statements about the use of current student athletes in the announcement.
It is unknown what will happen to the franchise without the NCAA name, and the college football franchise could now be cancelled, unless EA Sports decides to create their own fictional college football league to base the series on.