The Legacy of NCAA Football 14 and Its Cover Athlete: Denard Robinson

NCAA Football 14, published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon, is an American football video game that remains a significant title in the genre. As part of the NCAA Football series, it succeeded NCAA Football 13. Despite its positive reception, legal issues surrounding the use of college player likenesses prevented a sequel, making NCAA Football 14 the last installment until the highly anticipated EA Sports College Football 25. The game has maintained remarkable popularity in the decade following its release, fueled by unofficial roster updates and a dedicated community.

Development and Key Features

A significant part of the game's development was focused on improving the user interface and overall presentation. The developers aimed to create a faster and more streamlined experience for players. Key changes included:

A streamlined main menu that replaced the graphically intensive design modeled after ESPN College Football.
A shorter pre-game segment.
More varied in-game vignettes.
A new halftime show featuring ESPN's Rece Davis and David Pollack.

These enhancements aimed to "keep things fast" and "keep things moving," ensuring a more engaging and efficient user experience.

Denard Robinson: The Cover Athlete

On March 10, 2013, EA Sports announced that former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson would be the cover athlete for NCAA Football 14. Known as "Shoelace," Robinson was a star player for the Wolverines, making him a fitting choice to represent the game.

The Cover Vote Controversy

The selection of the cover athlete involved a fan vote that began on December 5, 2012. Fans initially chose from 32 teams, which was narrowed down to 16 in the second round. The third round reduced the selection to eight teams with players, including Robinson, former Texas A&M receiver Ryan Swope, Manuel, Oregon’s Kenjon Barner, and Alabama’s Eddie Lacy.

Read also: NCAA Football 06 Cover Athlete

Robinson ultimately won the vote after a tense final round against Swope. However, the voting process was not without controversy. Some fans created multiple accounts to boost their favorite candidate's votes, leading to an investigation by EA Sports. The company addressed the issue promptly, ensuring that only legitimate votes were counted.

Despite the controversy, Robinson's selection was well-received. As the third Michigan player to grace the cover of the game, following Heisman winners Charles Woodson (NCAA Football 99) and Desmond Howard (NCAA Football 06), Robinson's image became synonymous with the game.

Robinson's Reaction

Upon learning he would be on the cover, Robinson was ecstatic. He recalled sprinting out of his apartment and back in to share the news with his brother, Durrel. He described the feeling as unreal, a dream he never thought would happen. Robinson immediately called his mother, Dorothea, and childhood friends to share his excitement.

Robinson, a Deerfield Beach, Florida, native, had grown up playing NCAA Football and dreamed of being in the game. Being on the cover was beyond his wildest expectations.

Critical Reception

NCAA Football 14 received mixed to positive reviews. The game has an aggregate score of 77 on Metacritic for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

Read also: Comprehensive Cover Letter Guide

GameSpot gave the game a 6/10, praising the on-field action but criticizing the unnecessary experience system, the recruiting process, and the lack of significant changes from NCAA Football 13.
IGN gave the game a positive review, highlighting the improved gameplay and presentation.

Enduring Popularity

Due to the 11-year gap between NCAA Football 14 and EA Sports College Football 25, the game remained remarkably popular. The game has sold over 1.5 million copies. A dedicated online community continued to play the game, creating mods and unofficial roster updates to reflect subsequent seasons. The COVID-19 pandemic further increased the game's popularity, with prices on eBay ranging from $18 to almost $400.

New Teams

NCAA Football 14 added three new NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams: Georgia State, Old Dominion, and South Alabama. South Alabama joined the FBS in 2012 but was excluded from NCAA Football 13. Georgia State and South Alabama joined the Sun Belt, while Old Dominion was soon to join Conference USA.

The NIL Debate and the Future of College Football Games

One of the biggest hurdles facing the return of the NCAA Football series was compensating athletes for their inclusion in the game. Athletes didn't receive any money for the NCAA Football franchise until 2016, when payments began on a $40 million settlement reached in 2013 between EA, the NCAA, and athletes whose names, images, and likenesses (NIL) were involved in both college basketball and football video games.

EA Sports and CLC's partnership facilitates the return of a college football video game. More than 100 FBS schools’ game-day traditions, uniforms, and playbooks will be included. The issue of using players’ NIL remains, although Congress has recently stepped into the situation and could soon pass federal legislation that permits athletes to profit off their NIL. There’s also a possibility for group licensing-a key development that would allow EA to directly negotiate with players for use of their NIL in future games.

Robinson believes that players deserve to be compensated for their inclusion in the titles, as well as the labor they provide universities. Robinson says that players should form a unified group and have representative leadership established for them in the fight for NIL rights. He refers to former UCF kicker Donald De La Haye, who was ruled ineligible for monetizing YouTube videos in 2017 and how nonsensical it was to prevent someone to profit off their NIL in that way. He adds that it’s a difficult decision to concede your ability to make money off your work at such a young age.

Robinson's Legacy

Robinson's career at Michigan was marked by numerous achievements. He rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons as a full-time starter (2010 to 2012), becoming one of the nation's most exciting dual-threat signal-callers as a sophomore. In 2010, he broke the single-season Division 1 record for rushing yards by a quarterback and became the first player in NCAA history to pass and rush for 1,500 yards in a single year. He was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, a first-team All-American, and finished sixth in Heisman voting. In 2011, Robinson led Michigan to its first win against Ohio State since 2003-and its last since. He graduated following the 2012 season, after breaking the NCAA record for career rushing yards by a quarterback (4,495, a mark surpassed by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds in 2015).

For Robinson, appearing in the NCAA Football titles is an accolade that is worth putting up there with all his others. His debut character was rated an 80 overall in NCAA Football 10, with 83 throw power, 80 accuracy, and 88 speed. He remembers going home to link up with friends to play NCAA Football during breaks in Michigan’s school schedule and marveling at seeing himself.

Robinson laughs at the thought of how often he’s asked about being the game’s cover athlete. “Almost every day,” he says. Considering so much time has passed, Robinson’s celebrity bears a mythical hint to those who recognize him. This is especially true for those who might have missed or been too young to watch and remember his college or NFL career, however would still recognize him from NCAA Football 14. In 2019, Jacksonville University coach Ian Shields hired Robinson as an offensive analyst, and Robinson says players were amazed at the fact a video game icon was their coach. It was an accomplishment held basically on par with his on-field accolades.

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