A new college football video game is set to come out in summer 2024 for the first time in over a decade. There is so much to be excited about and still lots we don’t know about the new game.
One of the things we don’t yet know is who will be on EA’s College Football 25 cover.
So today we are looking back on every NCAA Football cover ever released hoping to get some inspiration for the new game.
NCAA Football 14
NCAA Football 14, with Denard Robinson on the cover, is one of the most legendary sports games of all time (largely due to the fact that there hasn’t been any new ones in 10 years). That, of course, will be changing soon with the release of College Football 25.
Denard Robinson was absolutely electric in college setting the NCAA record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback to go along with all sorts of other awards and achievements.
NCAA Football 13
The NCAA Football 13 cover featured 2 of the most exciting players in college football history: Barry Sanders and Robert Griffin III. Barry Sanders won the Heisman Trophy in 1988 while RGIII won it in 2011.
This was the first year an NCAA Football cover featured 2 players from different eras on the same cover.
NCAA Football 12
EA Sports held a fan vote for the NCAA Football 12 cover with Alabama running back, national champion, and Heisman winner Mark Ingram winning out.
He beat out Auburn defensive lineman Nick Fairley, Oklahoma running back Demarco Murray, and Washington quarterback Jake Locker.
NCAA Football 11
Legendary University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is featured on the NCAA Football 11 cover on both the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360.
Along with becoming the cover athlete for NCAA Football 11, Tebow won the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Awardand the Davey O’Brien Award along with 2 BCS national championships.
NCAA Football 10
NCAA Football 10 was a year where EA Sports decided to do multiple covers. There were actually 4 different covers this year.
- XBOX 350 Cover: Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech – WR)
- PlayStation 3 Cover: Brian Johnson (Utah – QB)
- PlayStation 2 Cover: Brian Orakpo (Texas – DE)
- PSP Cover: Mark Sanchez (USC- QB)
NCAA Football 09
NCAA Football 09 was the year EA Sports introduced different covers for different consoles. Those include:
- XBOX 360 Cover Athlete: Darren McFadden (Arkansas – RB)
- PlayStation 3 Cover Athlete: Matt Ryan (Boston College – QB)
- PlayStation 2 Cover Athlete: DeSean Jackson (Cal – WR)
- PSP Cover Athlete: Owen Schmitt (West Virginia – FB)
NCAA Football 08
Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky made his way onto the cover of NCAA 08 after leading his team to a wild victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
NCAA Football 07
True college football fans need no introduction to the player on the cover of NCAA Football 07.
Reggie Bush captivated an entire generation during his time at USC and for that earned his place on the NCAA Football 07 cover.
NCAA Football 06
The NCAA Football 06 cover featured a throwback with another athlete wildly consider to be one of the best college football players of all time: Desmond Howard.
Note: This was the year EA decided to go back to using 2 digit years like “06” in the title instead of 4 digital years like “2006.”
NCAA Football 2005
At this point in the list, you normally wouldn’t expect to see someone still playing in the NFL into the 2020s but Larry Fitzgerald wasn’t a normal player.
Traditionally quarterbacks and running backs were cover athletes so it was a pretty big deal to see Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on the cover for NCAA Football 2005.
NCAA Football 2004
The NCAA Football 2004 cover featured USC quarterback Carson Palmer.
Palmer went on to become the #1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals and had a solid NFL career.
NCAA Football 2003
Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington graced the NCAA Football 2003 cover.
He was an excellent college player although he did not live up to expectations in the NFL.
NCAA Football 2002
EA Sports decided to put Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke on the NCAA Football 2002 cover.
Weinke took an untraditional route by playing minor league baseball for 6 years before enrolling at Florida State. It’s not every day you see a 28 year old college quarterback make a major sports video game cover.
NCAA Football 2001
The NCAA Football 2001 cover athlete can also be found on the Madden 07 cover. Who is it? University of Alabama running back (and later Seattle Seahawks running back) Shaun Alexander.
NCAA Football 2000
University of Texas running back Ricky Williams was the cover athlete for NCAA Football 2000. What an electric player he was!
NCAA Football 99
Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson is on the cover of NCAA Football 99.
This was one of the very few times that a major football video game featured a defensive player on the cover.
NCAA Football 98
Danny Wuerffel was the cover athlete for NCAA Football 98. He was a great quarterback for the University of Florida winning the Heisman trophy earlier that year.
Note: This was the first time an EA Sports game featured the NCAA brand on their video games.
Well there you have it. That’s every major college football video game going back 25 years.
Which is your favorite cover? Let us know in the comments!
