Like more the news comes out With EA Sports College Football coming out ahead of its planned summer 2025 release, many fans are wondering if HBCUs will be featured in the game. FCS teams, particularly HBCUs, were featured in early editions of the game. NCAA Football franchise and even featured real-life players. The last known edition of the game featuring HBCU teams before the series was discontinued was NCAA Football 2008.
Matte brown, creator of Extra Bridges Newsletter, was interviewed by YouTuber Tubbylight on updates regarding the game, as he’s privy to coverage of the highly anticipated project. Brown confirmed there are plans to include the newest members of the FBS. which was transferred to FCSs such as Kenessaw State, James Madison and Jacksonville State. However, it appears that FCS teams will not be available on the game’s default roster during the initial release.
“I was told multiple times that the plan was to not include FCS teams at launch. That’s not to say they might not be included later as DLC, an expansion pack, or something, but the plan for the last year and more has been to focus on FBS institutions.
The news should be a bit disappointing for HBCU football fans who would like to play mock football in the SWAC and MEAC or even HBCUs in non-historically black conferences such as Tennessee State, Hampton and North Carolina A&T. The dream of getting one of the schools into an FBS conference, a topic often discussed in HBCU circles, might also be difficult to achieve without the institutions being on the list by default.
However, adding HBCU and FCS teams as downloadable content that can be imported after release is a promising idea that will surely be lucrative for EA Sports and a fantastic financial opportunity for FCS programs and their athletes via NIL rights.
