EA Discusses College Basketball at Q1 2026 Earnings Call
During Tuesday's Q1 2026 EA Earnings Call, there was one mention of the much speculated - and all but confirmed - EA SPORTS College Basketball title.
Raymond James Analyst Andrew Marok asked EA CEO Andrew Wilson about a potential CBB return and how EA views the basketball market as an opportunity given that the company has not launched a console professional basketball game since 2018.
Wilson responded that they cannot say much "yet," but hope to use the same approach from College Football in representing each university, bowls, playoffs, trophies, and player licensing as they "look to try and activate against that opportunity."
Continue on to read EA's transcript of the aforementioned Q&A.
Andrew Marok - Raymond James - Analyst: Great, thank you. Maybe just a quick follow-up there. We saw some of the reports earlier in the month about a potential return to college basketball.
So I guess in the context of your undeniable success with College Football so far, how are you viewing the broader basketball ecosystem as an opportunity, since you haven't had a pro game in a few years? Thank you.
Andrew Wilson - Electronic Arts Inc - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer: Yeah, great question. We can't say too much about it yet, but if I think about the opportunity, going back to where we are in College Football,
college sports are some of the most vibrant fan bases in the world. And that trickles over to basketball.
Certainly, we're seeing momentum of fandom in college basketball also continue to grow. Fans, athletes, universities pour their passion into these sports. And it is that passion that makes them special. It's what makes the games different, for the first part of your question. But with that comes high expectations and a demand for deeply authentic experiences, capturing the action on the field or the court, representing the energy, pageantry, the traditions, and celebrating unique sights and sounds and stories of every school and rivalry.
We feel like we deliver that incredibly well with College Football. A 140 schools represented the bowls, the playoffs, the trophies. I think the groundbreaking NIL program that we were able to activate, ensuring more than 11,000 student-athletes could be included and compensated in the game. It's a great representation of how we think about college sports.
We'd love to do the same for basketball all 350 programs, men's and women's teams, the iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course March Madness. So for us, college sports broadly is an exciting opportunity. We feel like we've done a really strong job and are going to remain committed to doing that in the context of College Football.
We believe that with what we've done with the teams, the technology, and our commitment around College Football, we'd have a great ability to do the same for college basketball. And as we look to try and activate against that opportunity, we'll be able to share more.
Andrew Marok - Raymond James - Analyst: Great, thank you
