EA's NCAA Football Series Could Return, Exec Says

In a new interview, Electronic Arts executive Peter Moore talked about the cancellation of the EA Sports NCAA Football series and teased that it may not be dead forever.

Speaking to IGN, Moore, who was formerly the president of EA Sports, said it was a "sad day" when the company decided to cancel the well-regarded series. The shutdown came in the wake of the player likeness and compensation lawsuits, which were eventually folded into a class-action suit. According to Moore, EA's lawyers' fees grew so much that they outweighed the revenue a new game could make.

"Settlements are still going out so it's tough to get into a lot of detail. But what happened was NCAA Football became the lightning rod for bigger issues regarding college athletes getting paid for their performance in not only football but all college sports," Moore said. "It was a sad day when we realized, 'We are in the sights of a number of lawsuits.' It was a sad day. When your lawyers fees are more than the revenue that you can expect to get in..."

When EA announced it was cancelling the NCAA Football series, the lawsuits hadn't been completely settled. EA decided not to make any more games in the immediate future because they could take years to make and this was a risky proposal. So EA had to say, "We just can't do this anymore."

The last NCAA Football game from EA Sports was 2013's NCAA Football 14. According to Moore, it may not be the last. "One day I know we'll be back," he teased.

Also in the interview, Moore clarified that no one at developer EA Tiburon lost their job as a result of the NCAA Football franchise's cancellation, as they were shifted to other roles at the studio. He also praised the NCAA Football series for being an authentic representation of what Saturdays around the country look and feel like, from the stadiums to the mascots.

Moore is now EA's Chief Competition Officer.

In January this year, the voice of EA's NCAA Football series, Kirk Herbstreit, ruffled feathers when he said the athlete who brought the lawsuit, Ed O'Bannon, is to blame for the franchise's cancellation. He also wants to see the franchise return, saying he was "devastated" when it was canceled.

Plans were in place for NCAA Football 15 in 2014, but the game was canceled as a result of a legal battle between the NCAA and student-athletes that resulted in a $60 million settlement package for the players.

Snoop Dogg would also like to see the NCAA Football series return, so there's that.