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EA Sports and NCAA enter partnership to educate ex-players.

by: Sean Cahill -
More On: NCAA Football 12
You may have heard through news postings that a few attempts have been made to sue EA Sports, the makers of the series NCAA Football, mainly because of the fact that player likenesses are used and the players themselves cannot collect money due to NCAA regulations.  EA and the NCAA announced a new fellowship to help educate players about the games industry as well as how the actual business side of sports works.  While this is a very, very minor bone to throw out (it only covers two post-graduate ex-players) in an attempt to show how things work in the industry, it is at least a step forward in helping them understand why the industry takes the steps that they do.
EA SPORTS AND NCAA FOOTBALL ANNOUNCE INAUGURAL FELLOWSHIP
Former Football Student-Athletes to Contribute to Videogame Development
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sept. 1, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and NCAA Football today announced a new fellowship program that will provide former football student-athletes an opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the games industry as well as the business of sports.
 
EA SPORTS and NCAA Football will offer two post-graduate, former football student-athletes an opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge of the sport to the newest edition of the EA SPORTSNCAA® Football videogame through a sixteen-week full-time, paid fellowship, commencing in January 2012. The positions will be based out of the EA Tiburon studio in Orlando, Fla. 
“Over the past several years, the NCAA Football development team has been praised for providing fans with an unparalleled college football experience that represents the sights, sounds, and traditions of gameday,” said Cam Weber, GM of Football, EA SPORTS. “We are excited to add additional football student-athletes to our team, and are confident that their experience on the field will further enhance the depth and authenticity of the videogame franchise.”
For the last 18 years, the NCAA Football videogame franchise has delivered the pride and pageantry of gameday by connecting players to the emotion of the college football experience.  From fight songs to school specific traditions, all 120 Division I FBS college programs are recreated with unparalleled authenticity. Interns selected for the fellowship will be challenged to translate their college football journey to creating compelling new game experiences for NCAA Football fans.

“We look forward to embarking on this new initiative with EA SPORTS and giving former football student-athletes an opportunity to parlay their passion for the game to a unique young professional experience,” added David Bertram, executive director, NCAA Football.
Interested applicants may work directly through EA SPORTS University Relations. For more information, please contact Shawnna Adamson, EA SPORTS University Relations Manager,URFellowships@ea.com.
NCAA Football is developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions, and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA SoccerNHL® hockey, NBA JAMNCAA® FootballFight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMATiger Woods PGA TOUR® golfand EA SPORTS Active. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.