UPDATE: The decision to end the contract with EA Sports was spurred on by a class-action lawsuit that alleges the NCAA violated anti-trust laws. Athletes involved in the class-action suit are seeking compensation for the use of their likeness in video games, including the NCAA Football title. The trial is set to begin February, 2014.

Original Story: Electronic Arts’, EA Sports brand holds exclusive licenses to a large number of professional and college sports organizations. Today the NCAA has announced that they won’t be renewing their contract with EA. The current contract expires in June, 2014 meaning that this years NCAA 14 will be the last EA college football title to include the NCAA’s name and logo. The NCAA cites they’re confident in their legal position to use their trademarks in video games, but the current business climate and costs of litigation have the organization arriving at the decision to no longer participate in the contract with EA.

This is a huge announcement for sports sim fans as a whole, and particularly those that anticipate yearly NCAA offerings from EA Sports. This decision was possibly made to open the door for 2K Games to pick up the license after the actual agreement with EA expires in June 2014. We’ll keep you up to date with any future announcements regarding the NCAA in video games.