NCAA Football 14: A Fond Look Back at the Game That Kept the Dream Alive
NCAA Football 14, published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon, stands as a significant title in the realm of sports video games. As part of Electronic Arts's NCAA Football video game series, it is the successor to NCAA Football 13. Released on July 9, 2013, NCAA Football 14 marked the end of an era for college football gaming, becoming the last installment in the series for over a decade due to legal issues surrounding the use of college player likenesses. However, its enduring popularity and the dedication of its fan base ensured that the game remained relevant and beloved for many years to come.
Development and Key Features
EA Sports College Football (formerly known as Bill Walsh College Football, College Football USA and NCAA Football) is an American football video game series developed by EA Sports in which players control and compete against current Division I FBS college teams. It served as a college football counterpart to the Madden NFL series. Part of the game's development focused on improving its user interface and presentation, with a mantra to "keep things fast" and "keep things moving". The changes included a streamlined main menu (replacing a graphically intensive menu design modeled upon the ESPN College Football graphics package), a shorter pre-game segment, more varied in-game vignettes, and a new halftime show with ESPN's Rece Davis and David Pollack. The first official news for NCAA Football 14 came in March 2013 when former Michigan QB Denard Robinson won the fan vote to become the game’s cover athlete.
The game was officially announced on April 3, 2013. The press release focused on the new Infinity Engine 2. EA said the new engine “unlocks the unpredictability and innovation of college football with the introduction of real-time physics and the new force impact system.” The new option plays coming to the game we’re also mentioned, hoping to make the game feel more like actual college football. EA Sports would release more information on the game in the lead-up to release, focusing on things like Presentation, Dynasty, and Ultimate Team, which was making its debut in the NCAA Football series.
NCAA Football 14 is the sequel to NCAA Football 13 and the final game in the NCAA Football series. As with the previous games it focuses on college football teams. This edition uses the improved infinity engine for physics and collisions introduced in the contemporary Madden NFL 25, along with technology called force impact system to determine the outcome of collisions.
This edition contains the Dynasty game mode where a team needs to be managed over multiple seasons. Changes to the game mode include the removal of phone calls and pitches for recruiting. Instead, it focuses on assigning points. Every action performed as a coach is rewarded with experience. New to this edition is the Nike Skills Trainer where various aspects for running, passing, defense and pre-play can be practiced. Presented in different situations, it includes tutorials and drills to master techniques. Completing them is rewarded with medals used for the Ultimate Team mode where players are unlocked by getting their trading card. This mode is online only, even when completing AI challenges.
Read also: Decoding CFP Rankings
Cover Athlete Selection
On March 10, 2013, it was announced that former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson would be the cover athlete for the game. A fan vote beginning on December 5, 2012, allowed fans to choose what teams would be represented on the cover. After it was narrowed down to 32, a second round of voting narrowed it down to 16. A third round reduced it to 8 teams with players. This vote wasn’t without controversy though. Early on in the voting, Robinson had a large lead over his competitor, Texas A&M WR Ryan Swope. However, within hours Swope somehow was able to take the lead.
Gameplay Enhancements
On the field, the new gameplay engine made the game feel different from previous versions. New hard cuts made it easier to change direction and fake out defenders. Several new option types helped differentiate this game from that year’s Madden NFL game.
The introduction of Infinity Engine 2 let players play true to their team with gameplay tuned with the unique college game in mind, while new Coach Skills and Power Recruiting create an engrossing Dynasty experience.
Dynasty Mode
In Dynasty mode, the new recruiting system drastically streamlined things. You no longer had to spend hours calling each individual recruit. Now, you just had to assign scouting points to your recruits. Every week, their top schools would update, and you would move up or down depending on how many points you assigned to them. Players, at least in 2013, welcomed the more set-it-and-forget-it style of recruiting.
Alongside the new recruiting system were the new coach skill trees. This allowed you to upgrade your coach, as well as your assistant coaches throughout the season. Head coaches get two skill trees, one focused on gameplay and one focused on recruiting. The recruiting skills in particular can become pretty overpowered when stacked together.
Read also: College Football Video Game
Road to Glory
In Road to Glory, things weren’t that different from previous years. The mode remained pretty similar to how it had always been. You create yourself, play your senior season of high school football to earn college scholarship offers, and then go on to play your college career. Road to Glory was much more streamlined in NCAA Football 14 compared to some earlier games. Now you just go to practice to earn training points, spend those training points on attribute upgrades, and play your games. There isn’t much else to keep you invested in the mode.
Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team made its debut in NCAA Football 14.
Presentation
Presentation in NCAA Football 14 was the peak in the sports gaming genre in 2013. The game featured full ESPN licensing and broadcast package. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit provided play-by-play and commentary. Reece Davis provided frequent studio updates on other games going on around the country. The music, halftime show, and graphics all looked exactly like an actual college football game on ESPN in 2013. The game had some of the best presentation we had ever seen in a sports game at the time, up there with games like ESPN NFL 2K5.
New Teams
Three new NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams were added to NCAA Football 14: Georgia State, Old Dominion, and South Alabama. South Alabama joined the FBS in 2012 but had been left out of NCAA Football 13. Georgia State and South Alabama joined the Sun Belt while Old Dominion was soon to join Conference USA.
Reception and Legacy
NCAA Football 14 has an aggregate score for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions on Metacritic of 77. The game received mixed to positive reviews. GamesRadar+ rated the game a 90, saying “… NCAA 14 hits a ton of high notes and marks a great start to the upcoming fall sports game blitz.” However, most other reviews weren’t as positive.
Read also: Navigating the NCAA Schedule
GameSpot gave the game a 6/10, praising the on-field action but criticizing the unnecessary experience system, the recruiting process, and the lack of significant changes from NCAA Football 13. IGN gave the game a positive review, highlighting the improved gameplay and Dynasty mode, but also noting the lack of significant innovation.
Despite these improvements and impressive sales, the writing was on the wall for the series. In the weeks following NCAA Football 14’s release, a series of dominoes fell into place that would lead to the end of college football video games. The first of those dominoes came years earlier in 2009.
The O'Bannon Lawsuit and the End of the Series
Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon sued the NCAA, EA Sports, and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) for using the image and likeness of student-athletes for financial gain. O’Bannon filed the suit after he saw his likeness being used in college basketball video games. Following this lawsuit, EA Sports discontinued the NCAA Basketball series in 2010. They continued publishing the NCAA Football series, now with historical teams removed from the game. However, as the lawsuit progressed, it became clear the end was nearing.
Just a week after NCAA Football 14 was released, the NCAA announced they would not renew their licensing deal with EA Sports. This single move though was not enough to kill the series. EA Sports planned to continue the series under the College Football title while continuing to license teams through their partnership with CLC. CLC announced that same day they would be extending their licensing deal with EA Sports through 2017.
Major conferences like the SEC, Big Ten, and PAC-12 all refused to license their trademarks to EA Sports. On September 26, 2013, EA Sports announced they would not release a new NCAA Football game in 2014, saying in a statement, “We have been stuck in the middle of a dispute between the NCAA and student-athletes who seek compensation for playing college football. Just like companies that broadcast college games and those that provide equipment and apparel, we follow rules that are set by the NCAA - but those rules are being challenged by some student-athletes. For our part, we are working to settle the lawsuits with the student-athletes. Meanwhile, the NCAA and a number of conferences have withdrawn their support of our game. That same day, EA Sports exited the O’Bannon lawsuit, settling for a reported $40 million.
Enduring Popularity and Community Efforts
Due to the 11-year gap between this game and EA Sports College Football 25, the game remained popular throughout the years, with various mods and unofficial roster updates. Despite the end of the series, this was the beginning of something new. One feature NCAA Football 14 had that wasn’t talked about much at its release was the ability to share roster files. Gamers often used this feature to put the actual names of players into the game when EA Sports was not allowed to. Every year, a group of dedicated fans spent countless hours updating the rosters for all 126 teams in the game. This kept the game alive for thousands of college football fans. We would all download the new rosters before the season started and get sucked back into a new dynasty all over again.
In 2018, ESPN interviewed some members of the team that made these updates. One team member said that it took him about 25 hours to complete one of the 30 teams he was responsible for. On January 1, 2021, the now 7-year-old title came back into the spotlight again in a brand new way. On this day, the College Football Revamped mod team released their interface update. This release updated much of the game’s user interface from the 2013 ESPN style to the modern 2021 style. New score bugs, menus, team select screens, logos, graphics, and much more helped bring the game into the new decade. It made NCAA Football 14 feel like a brand-new release and gave the game a completely new life. Videos and streams of the game became incredibly popular on YouTube and Twitch. In the years to come, CFB Revamped released even more updates to the game. New logos, jerseys, helmets, teams, stadiums, and more would be added into the game. This mod also inspired several others to create their own mods for games like this. Community members released mods for NCAA Football 14 that added the CFB Playoff, revived online multiplayer, revamped recruiting, and increased transfer frequency.
The Return of College Football Gaming
Just over a month after CFB Revamped’s interface update, EA Sports announced the College Football series would be returning. When EA Sports College Football 25 releases on July 19th, it will have been over 11 years since the last game in the series was released. EA Sports College Football series began in 1993 with Bill Walsh College Football on the SNES, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD. Now, 11 years later, sports fans are eagerly making plans for what is heading our way on July 19th. Gamers are already requesting off work and trying to decide what team to run their first dynasty with.
EA Sports College Football 25 was released on July 19, 2024 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is the first installment in the resumption of the series after an 11-year hiatus.
EA Sports College Football 26 was released on July 10, 2025. With Delaware and Missouri State joining the FBS level, they were added to the game.
The Series' History and Evolution
The EA Sports College Football series began in 1993 with Bill Walsh College Football on the SNES, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD. The series has seen numerous iterations and improvements over the years, constantly evolving to capture the essence of college football.
Early Years and Innovations (1993-1997)
The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football. In July 2013, the NCAA announced that it would not renew its licensing contract with Electronic Arts because of an ongoing legal dispute regarding the use of player likenesses in the games. However, this contract only covered the use of the NCAA name and related logos, not those of individual schools and conferences, which are negotiated individually or through the Collegiate Licensing Company.
Bill Walsh College Football featured the top 24 college football teams from 1992 and 24 of the all-time greatest teams since 1978. While no actual players were named and no official team logos used, colleges were listed by city and players identified by number. Play modes include exhibition, playoffs, and all-time playoffs. The game featured 36 Division I-A teams, a windowless passing mode, customizable seasons from one to sixteen weeks, and complete statistical tracking throughout the season. The series was renamed College Football USA 96, and was the first version to feature all (108 at the time) Division l-A teams. It was also the first in the series to feature real bowl games (Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose). There were 400 plays from which to choose, and a new passing mode allowed players to select from five receivers on every play. College Football USA 97 was the fourth installment of the series.
Advancements in Gameplay and Features (1997-2005)
NCAA Football 98 was released in 1997. NCAA Football 99 was the sixth edition of the game. The game featured University of Michigan cornerback and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson on the cover. The game featured all 112 Division I-A teams at the time and also featured 3D, polygon-rendered players for the first time in the franchise's history. Additional features included the ability to create players, edit player names, sixty fight songs and crowd chants. Over eighty historical teams were added to the game, as well. The Heisman Memorial Trophy replaces the 'EA Sports MVP" trophy and other awards are given out. Recruiting is simple and done in a serpentine draft system. The Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl are now playable, and the other Bowls played have EA Sports as the sponsor. Created players from this game can be imported to the title Madden NFL 99.
It featured no commentary by booth announcers; instead a PA announcer provides the commentary. The game included all 114 Division I-A schools and 26 from Division I-AA. This version included Create-a-player, Create-a-school, Custom League (up to eight teams, double round-robin, plus playoff), Custom Tournament (up to 16 teams, double elimination), as well as fully customizable Season/Dynasty schedules. The game featured a new Campus Cards rewards system, which allowed players to unlock special features in the game such as historical teams or special stadiums. Dynasty mode was enhanced with the ability to redshirt a player and schedule non-conference games before each season. Trophies and awards, modeled after real-life college football awards, was another feature new to this version. Players could win trophies by playing games and could add them to a personal collection which is shown off in a trophy room. These awards include the Heisman, Coach of the Year and Bowl-specific trophies. The game also featured a customizable interface for the first time. The College Classics mode was introduced in this version and allowed players to replay classic games in college football history. This version introduced more fan interaction in the game. The home team's defense can incite the crowd to make noise, making it difficult for the offense to hear the quarterback's audibles. This feature, dubbed "home field advantage", allowed stadium influence and energy to swing a game's momentum if strong enough. All Division I-A schools were included in the game along with more than 70 I-AA schools.
Enhanced Dynasty and Career Modes (2005-2013)
NCAA Football 06 has features that include the Dynasty mode, wherein the player act as a team's head coach, both on and off the field. Another new feature in the 2006 game is the Race for the Heisman mode, in which the player takes on the role of a single player attempting to win the Heisman Trophy. Race for the Heisman begins with the user selecting which position they want their character to be. The player then completes a workout for college scouts and you are offered scholarships to three different schools. The quality of football programs that offer scholarships depends on how well the player did in the workout. The player can either choose to accept one of the scholarships or walk on at any Division I school. After selecting what school to play for the player is automatically placed in the starting line up. Desmond Howard, a Heisman-winning player from the University of Michigan, is on the cover. This is a slight break in tradition as the NCAA Football series traditionally featured an NFL rookie on the cover of the game, with an action shot of him wearing his college jersey from the previous year.
NCAA Football 07 was released on July 18, 2006, and was the series' first release on both the Xbox 360 and PSP. This version of the game utilized a feature called Turn the Tide, which consisted of a momentum meter on the score graphic at the top or bottom of the screen. NCAA Football 08 was released on July 17, 2007. Some of the new features for this version include Leadership Control, which allows players who perform well to "lead by example" and control the action on the field and increase their sphere of influence by improving their players' personal ratings on each big play. The game also features a new and deeper recruiting system and an all-new Campus Legend mode. NCAA Football 09 was released July 15, 2008. NCAA Football 10 was released on July 14, 2009. This would be the replacement for Create-A-School. NCAA Football 11 was released on July 13, 2010. It was released on all next generation consoles, with the exception of the Wii. NCAA Football 12 was released on July 12, 2011 on PS3 and Xbox 360. NCAA Football 13 was released on July 10, 2012. The game's cover features Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor, along with another Heisman winner (Barry Sanders from Oklahoma State), who was decided by fan voting.
The Hiatus and the Highly Anticipated Return (2014-Present)
NCAA Football 14, the final installment in the series prior to its 11-year hiatus, was released on July 9, 2013. The game's cover features former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who was decided by fan voting.
Due to legal disputes between the NCAA, Electronic Arts, college athletes, and others regarding the usage of college athletes' likenesses in video games (which had been barred by the NCAA because of the concept of sport amateurism), the association did not renew its licensing deal with EA. However, the expiration of the license only affected the use of the NCAA's trademarks in the games. Teams and other events are licensed from schools individually or through organizations such as the Collegiate Licensing Company-which announced on the same day that they would extend its own licensing deal with EA through 2017. EA therefore ensured that with its existing deals in place, it would still be able to produce future versions of the franchise without the NCAA license (as it did prior to 1997).
During the series' hiatus, Madden sporadically made use of college football teams. NCAA Football 14, the last edition of the game released prior to the series' hiatus, continued to be played by fans, including actual college football players.
For the new run of the series starting in 2024, players will be able to have their names in the game, though players may opt out if they refuse to agree to EA's terms.
Music and Sound
Prior to the release of NCAA Football 06, the only music featured in the game were fight songs of most FBS and FCS colleges featured in the game. NCAA Football 09 allows a new custom stadium sounds feature allowing users to edit what sounds are heard at specific stadiums during events within the game, such as a touchdown, field goal, or timeout.
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