UTEP football coach Scotty Walden said he became familiar with the Miner program years ago by playing them on EA Sports College Football, where he presumably had more success than the team often did on the field.
It’s easy to see the attraction to UTEP in the 25 version of the game, which released a stadium entrance clip on Instagram where the Miners run onto the Sun Bowl field for a game against Charlotte (UTEP actually did play Charlotte in the Sun Bowl in 2019 and may never play them again in real life).
In the clip the stadium appears sold out, with a close up of fans in body paint. “Welcome to the West Texas town of El Paso,” the announcer exclaims. As the Miners move down the tunnel there is a clear view of the backs of Sione Tonga’uiha and Dorian Hopkins. Then it appears Emari White leads the team on to the field, behind the flag bearers and between the marching band in formation, to wild enthusiasm from the Miner fans.
EA Sports College Football 25 will be released on Friday, July 19. The cover features Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Michigan’s Donovan Edwards and Colorado’s Travis Hunter Jr., with the Cotton Bowl as the backdrop.
EA Sports College Football 25 will be released worldwide on July 19, 2024. However, on July 16, 2024, 3-day early access is available through the Deluxe Edition. The game can still be preordered from now until July 18, 2024.
EA Sports College Football 25 will be released on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S.
EA (Electronic Arts) released NCAA Football 14, the last college football video game, just before the 2013 college football season.
EA Sports was forced to discontinue college football video games due to the Keller vs. Electronic Arts Inc. (2013) case, which led to the court’s ruling that players’ likenesses could not be used in the games if the athletes were not being compensated. The courts ruled that doing this violated the rights of all the players used in the games.
The NCAA v. Alston case, however, led to the Supreme Court ruling in favor of player compensation. Therefore now, players can be paid for their name, image and likeness. As a result, the games can be continued.
The cover athletes for EA Sports College Football 25 are Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
Source: Arizona Republic
