NCAA Football 10 breaks huddle July 14

March Madness may have the eyes of most college-sports fans, but EA is already looking ahead to the next great academic sporting event. The publisher has announced that NCAA Football 10 will kick off July 14 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PSP. EA made no mention of a Wii edition--which last year featured Michigan State's Sparty mascot on the cover--and had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Although EA plans to regularly announce new game features through NCAA Football 10's Web site, the publisher did spell out one of the sports game's new online modes, Season Showdown. A highly collaborative mode, Season Showdown has players affiliating themselves with a school of their choice and then competing either through NCAA Football 10 or Web-based games to earn credits. The school with the most credits by the end of the Season Showdown wins the bragging-rights title.

As in years past, NCAA Football 10 features all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. According to EA, stadiums have seen a number of enhancements this year, from new field-goal nets, to wind-driven flags, to camera flashes. Despite staff cuts made in January, EA Tiburon has again been tasked with development duties on NCAA Football 10.