Today, ESPN Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell stated on his Twitter that 2K Sports has obtained the licenses for at least 10 college basketball teams and will have some sort of college basketball offering for players.
Recently, speculation occurred that 2K Sports had something in the works after Operation Sports was able to confirm licensing for a set of teams using the The Collegiate Licensing Company's database (which handles most licensing for NCAA products). Unfortunately, after the report gained some traction, 2K no longer appears using the search for any of the teams it was previously listed under (Arizona, Arizona State, Connecticut, Georgetown, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Texas, UCLA, Villanova and Wisconsin.) However, a recent leaked achievement list for NBA 2K16 also pointed to some involvement with college teams.
Rovell's report today only adds more credence to the possibility that 2K will bring back college basketball. Whether this is just for a part of Visual Concept's NBA 2K series or a brand new college basketball game remains to be seen. Although a new report by Pastapadre seems to indicate that it's NBA 2k16 related.
2K Sports last published its NCCA series in 2008. EA Sports stopped soon after in 2009. In recent days, a $60 million settlement had been finalized due to EA and The Collegiate Licensing Corporation improperly using players' likeness and not compensating them for such across its various college franchises.
Rovell also revealed on Twitter that despite rumors to the contrary, EA is unlikely to return with a college football game.
We reached out to 2K for confirmation and will update this story should we receive a response.
[Source: Twitter, Operation Sports, True Achievements, Pastapadre]
Our Take
Rovell is a pretty trusted source and I doubt he'd put something like that on his Twitter without doing his due diligence. Signs are pointing to the licensing being used for NBA2K16, which makes sense for its robust My Player mode. Time will tell, but unless we hear of more teams, it's likely this is for NBA 2K16 and not a new college basketball game.