The highly anticipated release of EA Sports’ “College Football 25” has already drawn some blowback after the video game announced the broadcasters and sideline reporters who will be featured in the game.
EA Sports said on Thursday that each of the 134 FBS schools will be featured in the game. Additionally, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis, Kevin Connors, Jesse Palmer, Desmond Howard and David Pollack wrote on X that they would be in the EA Sports game as well.
Each of them, at one point over the last year, was a part of ESPN and the college football broadcasts on the network in some form.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
At least two ESPN sideline reporters noticed there were no women announced for the game.
An EA Sports logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“How about including some women @EASPORTS 30 years on the college football sidelines,” Holly Rowe wrote on X.
Rowe has been at ESPN since 1995 and is seen on the sideline at college football and college basketball games.
Molly McGrath, another ESPN sideline reporter for its college football and college basketball coverage, also spoke out. “So exciting! I really hope @EASPORTSCollege included female broadcasters, as well. Women are a huge part of college football,” she added in a post on X.
RECENTLY RETIRED NICK SABAN RIPS NIL: ‘WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS NOT COLLEGE FOOTBALL’
Telecaster Holly Rowe is seen holding a SEG Media branded microphone before the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena on October 30, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
Several other college football fans noticed the lack of women in the game on X as well.
EA Sports didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the ESPN reporters’ remarks.
The college football video game was announced for the summer last week after an 11-year hiatus. The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football, and the game was released under the legendary coach’s name for two years. The name changed to College Football USA for the 1996 and 1997 seasons before changing to NCAA Football from 1998 to 2014.
The game was on hiatus for a while due to disputes among EA, the NCAA and college athletes. Each installment since the 1997 version featured a cover athlete as video games normally do.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
However, the cover athlete wasn’t permitted to be paid for his image and likeness.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Source: www.foxnews.com