NCAA Football 14 News Post

SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten Won't License Trademarks in Future Video Games

10:56 AM - August 14, 2013 by vhhsfu0509

The Southeastern Conference announced today that it will not, as a conference, license its trademarks in the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. This decision does not involve member universities as of yet, as this only involves the SEC conference name and logo.

However, this could be the type of event that opens the flood gates to future defections from the game. While the future of the College Football series looked somewhat on stable ground after EA and the CLC agreed to a three year deal, this news rattles the very foundations and future of the series.

"Each school makes its own individual decision regarding whether or not to license their trademarks for use in the EA Sports game(s)," the SEC said in a statement. "The Southeastern Conference has chosen not to do so moving forward. Neither the SEC, its member universities, nor the NCAA have ever licensed the right to use the name or likeness of any student to EA Sports."

This is another move in response to the Ed O'Bannon case which could end collegiate video games forever given unfavorable rulings from the courts.

Today's news only brings more questions as to the viability of the product going forward.

UPDATE: ESPN's Kristi Dosh is reporting that the Big XII says they have yet to make a decision on the inclusion of their marks in future College Football video games.

UPDATE #2: ESPN is now reporting the Big Ten is out as well.

UPDATE #3: In a statement to Joystiq, a CLC representative said "150 collegiate institutions, including SEC schools, have approved renewal of the EA college football license, to begin with the 2015 edition. As with any licensed product, individual schools continue to make their own decisions."

We are putting in a question with the CLC on whether this means schools can still opt out of the game at any time or not as the wording certainly seems to leave that possibility open.

Update #4: Jeremy Fowler of CBS is reporting that the Pac-12's marks also won't be in the new game.

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Member Comments

# 41 AuburnAlumni @ 08/14/13 11:55 AM

I wish painful, not nice events to occur to O'Bannon and Keller.

Thanks for being jackazzes.

# 42 jmik58 @ 08/14/13 11:55 AM

New to EA's College Football 15 ... Conference Builder. Create, upload and share your custom conference names, logos and insignia.

# 43 xirdneh132 @ 08/14/13 11:55 AM

From a selfish perspective this sucks but from a big picture perspective I'm still on the side of O'Bannon and the others. The NCAA has a long history of taking advantage of the players and for those of you trying to side with the NCAA (mostly because you care about video games) go through the abuses of the NCAA and there is no defending them. The NCAA had this coming, it's their fault not O'Bannon's or any of the players, blaming the players is easy and lazy when the NCAA is really the one at fault. I love this game and don't want to see it go but it's the price we pay for the NCAA's greed and all we can hope for (since the writing seems to be on the wall) is that EA has at least one more game in them and they should man up and make the best possible game they can make, even if it means they release if later than usual. Make a game believing it's your last and go out in a blaze of glory.

# 44 Elite49 @ 08/14/13 11:56 AM

Well since EA pretty much stops development on their NCAA/Madden games MONTHS before release, expect College Football 15 to be terrible. They'll be sitting back this entire year waiting on conferences/teams and whether of not to remove them/make new ones entirely. Who really wants a half-assed game with a real team taking on a fake team?

# 45 AUChase @ 08/14/13 11:57 AM

It would have been nice to get an NCAA game with the playoff system included before it all gets shut down.

# 46 LPU @ 08/14/13 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcrushx


	Couldn't we end all of this if we just pay the players? It's starting to get a little silly as to how far we are willing to go just to avoid paying players.

Agree that they should be paid, but I don't know if it's that simple. The process in establishing that brings in its own set of problems regarding how much, how it's regulated, and where it's coming from (granted most of these institutions wouldn't have a problem coming up with $$).

And would that solve the issues w/ licensing altogether or is there more to it than player likenesses w/o compensation? I don't know.

# 47 Cryolemon @ 08/14/13 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMBrown


	heh, superior gameplay. That game sucked. I'm sorry but it did.

Compared to 2k5 definitely.

It could have worked, but as I said, the marketing was rubbish and the customization sucked.

# 48 Ramminyou @ 08/14/13 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcrushx


	Couldn't we end all of this if we just pay the players? It's starting to get a little silly as to how far we are willing to go just to avoid paying players.

EA would probably stop making the game before they began paying for player likenesses. I doubt they would view the series as successful enough to absorb that cost.

# 49 mva5580 @ 08/14/13 11:58 AM

I find this to be a perfect time to throw out what I've been saying for years.

RELEASE THE DAMN GAME ON PC.

Make it fully moddable, and it really does not matter one damn bit which schools/conferences/whatever sign on with you to use their logos, names, games, etc. EVERY school in the NCAA could pull out of the game tomorrow and it would take modders all of a week or two to put all of that stuff back in the game as if nothing ever happened, and oh by the way it would be better.

# 50 dghustla @ 08/14/13 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xirdneh132


	From a selfish perspective this sucks but from a big picture perspective I'm still on the side of O'Bannon and the others. The NCAA has a long history of taking advantage of the players and for those of you trying to side with the NCAA (mostly because you care about video games) go through the abuses of the NCAA and there is no defending them. The NCAA had this coming, it's their fault not O'Bannon's or any of the players, blaming the players is easy and lazy when the NCAA is really the one at fault. I love this game and don't want to see it go but it's the price we pay for the NCAA's greed and all we can hope for (since the writing seems to be on the wall) is that EA has at least one more game in them and they should man up and make the best possible game they can make, even if it means they release if later than usual. Make a game believing it's your last and go out in a blaze of glory.

Blaming the Players is easy and Lazy?
UCLA provided Ed O'Bannon with a free education, food, and healthcare valued at over $100,000.

ULCA and the NCAA provided a platform for Ed O'Bannon to showcase his talents and provided him with National exposure to build his personal Brand.

In 1995 Ed O'Bannon signed a 3-year $3.9 million dollar contract.

So now it's EA sports fault and the NCAA that Ed O'Bannon squander his riches? And he is trying to get a small piece of something he was already compensated for, but not in the way he wanted it?

it's easy to say pay the players, the NCAA makes money on them. But let me ask you a question. How many ppl on OS could name the top 25 minor league baseball players in this country? Now how man ppl on OS can name the top 25 collegiate football players? The NCAA and it's member university provide these players with unprecedented exposure to build their brands and get a free education. The "student-athlete" has to recognize that opportunity and make the most of it.

# 51 mva5580 @ 08/14/13 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpgfan


	Playing this game on the computer?....eeeeeeeh. However, you are right. You'd have kids going days straight until it was as good or if not better than the actual produced product.

Of course....one of those people.

My computer is hooked up to my 65" 1080p in the living room. I play the majority of my PC games with an Xbox 360 controller.

That's my last post on the topic, I'm not getting into it with people. The game would be better on PC and modders could do whatever they wanted with it. But hey.....enjoy being stuck with whatever they give you on consoles.

# 52 xirdneh132 @ 08/14/13 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMBrown


	the players know what they're signing up for when they sign the commitment.

MrMBrown, no 18 year olds signing a scholarship don't know everything they sign up for. As a finance guy for a credit card processing company most merchants have no idea what they're signing up for and that is with us explaining it to them and a full 3 page contract. NCAA contracts are much longer, more rules, more nuanced terms, and far more legal issues. No 18 year old knows what they are signing up for and neither do most parents, even intelligent ones who read everything. Only lawyers really understand everything that is on there and very few of these families can afford a lawyer to look over everything.

# 53 aholbert32 @ 08/14/13 12:12 PM

Do people really care that much about logos? As long as the teams are in the game with their unis and stadiums, does anyone really care if the SEC is called the "Southern Conference" in the game?

# 54 dghustla @ 08/14/13 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aholbert32


	Do people really care that much about logos? As long as the teams are in the game with their unis and stadiums, does anyone really care if the SEC is called the "Southern Conference" in the game?

You don't the SEC would sue EA if they tried to replica their conference without it's consent?

EBO is suing because of a generic bald black avatar on UCLA had his number lol.

# 55 laxman490 @ 08/14/13 12:20 PM

i wonder how the lsu and bama fan in the other thread feel now that their precious SEC isnt going to use their logo.

on a side note, i think people are underestimating what effect this could have. remember when pro evolution soccer had much better gameplay than fifa, but it always under sold fifa because it didnt have authentic teams/leagues...

# 56 aholbert32 @ 08/14/13 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dghustla


	You don't the SEC would sue EA if they tried to replica their conference without it's consent? EBO is suing because of a generic bald black avatar on UCLA had his number lol.

They only own the mark. That suit would get tossed at the motion to dismiss stage.

EBO is suing because it had its number, had similar physical characteristics and played on a specific UCLA team

# 57 fballturkey @ 08/14/13 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big FN Deal


	I feel for those gamers that enjoy collegiate football games but for someone like me that prefers NFL gaming, there is a potential silver lining to no more NCAA Football. Maybe EA will finally add everything football they can to Madden instead of this asinine obsession with adding some to one of their football titles and not the other, to differentiate. I really can't believe the number of things that are universal to representing football that aren't shared by both games, so if NCAA Football does unfortunately get scrapped, maybe they will at least bring more of its' applicable features into Madden.

You may find it to be the opposite of this. There will be fewer overall resources devoted to football games which isn't going to help madden.

# 58 xirdneh132 @ 08/14/13 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dghustla


	Blaming the Players is easy and Lazy? UCLA provided Ed O'Bannon with a free education, food, and healthcare valued at over $100,000. ULCA and the NCAA provided a platform for Ed O'Bannon to showcase his talents and provided him with National exposure to build his personal Brand. In 1995 Ed O'Bannon signed a 3-year $3.9 million dollar contract. So now it's EA sports fault and the NCAA that Ed O'Bannon squander his riches? And he is trying to get a small piece of something he was already compensated for, but not in the way he wanted it? it's easy to say pay the players, the NCAA makes money on them. But let me ask you a question. How many ppl on OS could name the top 25 minor league baseball players in this country? Now how man ppl on OS can name the top 25 collegiate football players? The NCAA and it's member university provide these players with unprecedented exposure to build their brands and get a free education. The "student-athlete" has to recognize that opportunity and make the most of it.

UCLA did provide that for him to play basketball plus several other things in the contract that no 18 year olds understand which is why the NCAA is losing. If you're one of these trying to dump on O'Bannon I suggest you read Taylor Branch's "The Shame of College Sports", the history of the NCAA as he broke down the decades long corruption of the NCAA. People commenting and defending the NCAA put blinders on and use the same lazy reasoning you are using because Branch, as others have, show a picture of the NCAA that details the corruption of the NCAA. Just about everyone who has read it has the same views I have, the NCAA deserves no benefit of the doubt as it had a lock on everything over everyone and now it's beginning to break as it should. Players and others have been taken advantage of for decades and here are people on these boards whining about how they might now have their favorite video game to play. I have bought NCAA Football every year since it was on the Sega Genesis, love this game but unlike so many on here the NCAA deserves what is coming to them and those of us that play NCAA Football will pay a small price of not getting to play our favorite video game. The NCAA is losing for a reason, because of it's own corruption and greed but since the NCAA is an organization people turn their wrath on who they know and have seen, the players. If the NCAA was so great you would see players lining up to defend them but you don't and not many coaches or college presidents are defending them either, that should tell you something.

# 59 TripleCrown9 @ 08/14/13 12:28 PM

The only problem I'm seeing with everyone's ideas is that they can't exactly call it the Southern Conference.

# 60 jmood88 @ 08/14/13 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unlucky 13


	I wonder if O'Bannon even realizes what he's done. And if he does, if he cares at all. Taking years of enjoyment away from millions of people, for personal greed. Certainly the calling card of a villain.

How dare he object to video game companies, schools, and the NCAA making money on his, and other players', names and not be happy about it. All he needs is a mustache to twirl and he would be the perfect villain.

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