NCAA abandons EA Sports license, but the CLC ensures a realistic future college football game

The NCAA will no longer be licensing its name to EA Sports for the NCAA Football video game series, the organization announced on Wednesday, causing fear among video game fans that this would mark the end of their favorite college series.

It's true, the NCAA Football series of games will come to an end, but it name only. Why? Because the NCAA is not in control of the colleges, universities, conferences, and bowl games who want to lend their name to a video game title.

The Collegiate Licensing Company handles licensing on behalf of most of the 126 schools in the FBS. The good news for fans of EA Sports' college football franchise? The CLC is happy to continue working with the video game developer.

"Collegiate Licensing Company, which serves as a collegiate trademark licensing agent, continues to have a strong relationship with EA, and in representing our partner institutions anticipates participating in the launch of a new game next year that features the college teams, leagues and authentic innovation fans would expect from these games," CLC spokesperson Andrew Giangola tells CougCenter.

So, other than a new name, there shouldn't be much different about the look, feel and presentation of next year's EA Sports college football game. As SB Nation's Jason Kirk points out, there is little that the NCAA actually has control of in college football.

That's good news for college football video game enthusiasts, who won't miss out on playing with a correctly branded school next summer.