EA Sports Is bringing back college basketball—and Kentucky fans are ready to build a dynasty
It’s official: college basketball is making its long-awaited return to the video game world. After the historic relaunch of EA Sports College Football 25—now the best-selling sports video game in U.S. history in terms of dollar sales according to Circana—EA is gearing up to do it again, hardwood style.
Now if you are wondering when Kentucky ever played EA Sports, well that's actually athletes in action and we will do a deep dive on them tomorrow. But for now, they were a group of Christian Athletes who often played exhibition games against college teams, they pushed Kentucky to overtime one year. But now back to the game.
The last time fans could simulate March Madness on a console was over 15 years ago. NCAA Basketball 10, featuring Blake Griffin on the cover, dropped in 2009 and marked the end of an era. Since then, hoops diehards have been left to wonder when they'd once again get the chance to build a blueblood into a dynasty—or take a small school from First Four to Final Four.
Now, the wait is almost over.
EA Sports has targeted 2028 for the return of its college basketball series, and while that feels like a full recruiting cycle away, the buzz is already building. With licensing rights now in place for athletes thanks to NIL, fans can expect to play with real names, real likenesses, and real programs—Kentucky included.
And if you're part of Big Blue Nation? You’ve probably already got a plan. Recreate the 2012 title team? Add your own twist to the ’96 Untouchables? Or maybe rewrite history and push past UCLA’s 11 national championships. With the controller in your hands, that dream is alive.
But EA won’t be alone.
In a surprise post on X, 2K Sports—makers of the NBA 2K franchise—hinted they may be entering the college hoops chat. When a fan said 2K should be making a college game, the official account cryptically replied, “Campus has been quiet too long” . That’s not nothing. In fact, it's the strongest public signal yet that a second major studio might join the fray.
EA or 2K. Wildcats or Gators. March Madness or Midnight Madness.
No matter how you game it, college basketball is back. And for Kentucky fans, it’s time to rebuild the empire—one joystick flick at a time.