USC, players and fans celebrate return of NCAA Football video game

The news reverberated around college football Tuesday that the popular EA Sports' college football video game is making its long-awaited return after an extended and complicated hiatus since the last edition was released in 2013.

According to ESPN.com, the return won't be this year but it is at least in the works.

From the report:

To make the game happen, EA Sports partnered with collegiate licensing company CLC to make sure it had the FBS schools, traditions, uniforms and playbooks -- among other things -- ready to go for the game. Over 100 teams will be in the game.

For now, EA Sports is planning to move forward without rosters that include the names, images or likenesses of real college players. Current NCAA rules prohibit athletes from selling their NIL rights while in college.

Those NIL rules led to the discontinuation of the game franchise since the NCAA 2014 edition (released in the summer of 2013) as the issue of players' rights to profit reached the courts with former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon attaching his name to the lawsuit against the NCAA. Much has changed since then (and as a result of those efforts), and NIL rules are in the process of being changed, with many schools taking proactive steps to be ready to help their athletes maximize their personal brands once they are able to profit.

As for the video game, it won't bear the familiar "NCAA" title but will be called EA Sports College Football, per the report.

Naturally, the announcement Tuesday elicited reactions across the spectrum of college football, including USC reminding fans of its past cover athletes.