The ''NCAA Basketball'' (formerly ''NCAA March Madness'') series was a college basketball game which was published by EA Sports from 1998 until 2009. After EA Sports' rival publisher

2K Sports 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same m ...

cancelled its own college basketball game, College Hoops, in 2008, EA changed the name of the series from ''NCAA March Madness'' to ''NCAA College Basketball''. The series was discontinued on February 10, 2010. It was released on

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Like other games based on NCAA sports, it could not feature the players' names (as that is against NCAA policy/rules), so only the players' numbers were used in the rosters. Users were able to edit the rosters, putting in the correct names for each team if they wished to do so. Many player last names were built into the in-game commentary, like in the ''NBA Live'' series. Verne Lundquist, Brad Nessler, and Gus Johnson lent their voices for play-by-play in the games at various times. Lundquist was the original announcer, with Nessler taking over in the mid-2000s and Johnson joining him for the most recent game in the series. Bill Raftery and Dick Vitale were analysts. Raftery originally worked with Lundquist on their games and returned to work alongside Johnson for CBS-branded games in ''NCAA Basketball 10'', while Vitale and Nessler joined the series at the same time.

Games

''NCAA March Madness 98''

''NCAA March Madness 98'' is the 1997 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on February 28, 1998 for the

. Former Wake Forest player and retired San Antonio Spurs player Tim Duncan the now

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

r is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 99''

''NCAA March Madness 99'' is the 1998 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on December 18, 1998 for the PlayStation. Former North Carolina player

Antawn Jamison Antawn Cortez Jamison (; born June 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He serves as director of pro personnel for the Washington Wizards. Jamison playe ...

is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 2000''

''NCAA March Madness 2000'' is the 1999 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released in December 1999 for the PlayStation. Former Maryland player

Steve Francis Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year (along with Elton Brand) in his fi ...

is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 2001''

''NCAA March Madness 2001'' is the 2000 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on December 7, 2000 for PlayStation. Former Cincinnati and NBA player

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los An ...

is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 2002''

''NCAA March Madness 2002'' is the 2001 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on January 9, 2002 for

. Former Duke player and former Miami Heat player

Shane Battier Shane Courtney Battier (born September 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He's also worked for ESPN and recently joined the board of Yext. Battier is best known for his four years playing basketball at Duke, his 13 ye ...

is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 2003''

''NCAA March Madness 2003'' is the 2002 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on November 21, 2002 for PlayStation 2. Former Kansas Jayhawks player

Drew Gooden Andrew Melvin Gooden III (born September 24, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a broadcaster for NBC Sports Washington. The power forward played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

is featured on the cover. The game's cover shows deformities within the artwork.

''NCAA March Madness 2004''

''NCAA March Madness 2004'' is the 2003 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on November 17, 2003 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Former

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

player Carmelo Anthony is featured on the cover. Commentary is done by Brad Nessler and "Mr. College Basketball" Dick Vitale as he is introduced in the game. This is the first time the player can pick their favorite school and the menus are stylized in the school's colors and a cheerleader or mascot can appear on the main menu while playing the school's fight song. The game plays similar to '' NBA Live 2004''.

''NCAA March Madness 2005''

''NCAA March Madness 2005'' is the 2004 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on November 16, 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Former Connecticut player, Charlotte Bobcats player, New Orleans Hornets player, Washington Wizards player, and New Orleans Pelicans player and current NBA free agent player Emeka Okafor is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 06''

''NCAA March Madness 06'' is the 2005 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on October 12, 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Former Oklahoma City Thunder player Raymond Felton is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 07''

''NCAA March Madness 07'' is the 2006 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on January 17, 2007 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. Former

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places * Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy * Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily People with the surna ...

player Adam Morrison is featured on the cover.

''NCAA March Madness 08''

''NCAA March Madness 08'' is the 2007 installment in the ''NCAA March Madness'' series. It was released on December 11, 2007 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360. Former University of Texas and current Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant is featured on the cover. It was the only ''March Madness'' game to debut for the PlayStation 3 until the name change.

''NCAA Basketball 09''

''NCAA Basketball 09'' is the 2008 installment in the NCAA College Basketball series. It was released on November 17, 2008 for the PlayStation 3,

, and Xbox 360. The cover featured former UCLA, Minnesota Timberwolves and current

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

forward Kevin Love.

''NCAA Basketball 10''

''NCAA Basketball 10'' is a basketball video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It was released November 17, 2009 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Former University of Oklahoma and current

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

forward Blake Griffin was featured on the cover. The ''NCAA Basketball'' series was discontinued after ''NCAA Basketball 10''.

Cover Athletes

Discontinuation of ''NCAA Basketball Series''

The video game series had used likenesses of college athletes, threatening their amateur statuses. The amateur rules of collegiate sports overruled any claim that the athletes had towards compensation based on the ''Likeness Licensing Litigation;'' there is a contractual agreement made when scholarships are given out to do this.

Games

''NCAA March Madness 98''

''NCAA March Madness 99''

''NCAA March Madness 2000''

''NCAA March Madness 2001''

''NCAA March Madness 2002''

''NCAA March Madness 2003''

''NCAA March Madness 2004''

''NCAA March Madness 2005''

''NCAA March Madness 06''

''NCAA March Madness 07''

''NCAA March Madness 08''

''NCAA Basketball 09''

''NCAA Basketball 10''

Cover Athletes

Discontinuation of ''NCAA Basketball Series''

References

External links