The wait was long. Eleven years, actually. When EA Sports finally dropped the curtain on its return to the gridiron, the first thing everyone did was look for their school. It didn't matter if you were a die-hard Alabama fan or someone rooting for a MAC school in the middle of a cornfield. You just wanted to know if they were in.
Honestly, the EA Sports College Football 25 teams list is a massive leap forward from the old NCAA 14 days, but it's also kinda confusing if you aren't tracking the chaos of modern conference realignment. We aren't just looking at the same old faces.
There are 134 FBS teams in this game. That's every single one.
The Full Breakdown of the EA Sports College Football 25 Teams List
If you're looking for the big names, they're all here. The SEC and the Big Ten are the heavy hitters now, especially with Texas and Oklahoma officially jumping ship to the SEC. It’s weird seeing Oklahoma in a conference that doesn't include Oklahoma State as a conference rival, but that’s the 2024-2025 reality we live in.
The Big Ten is equally bloated. You’ve got Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA all making the trek from the West Coast to play games in places like New Jersey and Indiana. It’s a lot to wrap your head around when you’re setting up a Dynasty.
The Power Conferences
SEC (16 Teams)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.
Big Ten (18 Teams)
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin.
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ACC (17 Teams)
Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.
Big 12 (16 Teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia.
What Happened to the Pac-12?
This is the part that trips people up. If you look at the EA Sports College Football 25 teams list, the Pac-12 still exists, but it’s basically a ghost town. It only has two teams: Oregon State and Washington State.
Basically, the "Pac-2" is a thing in the game because the legal dust hadn't settled when the game launched. They have a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West in real life, but in the game, they sit in their own little corner. You can use the Custom Conferences tool to move them, which I highly recommend doing unless you want a two-team conference title race every year.
The Group of Five and New Additions
There are nine teams in this game that were never in the old NCAA series. Kennesaw State is the big "newbie" that everyone is talking about for "Death to Glory" rebuilds. They just moved up to the FBS and joined Conference USA.
Other schools like James Madison, Sam Houston, and Jacksonville State finally have their real logos and stadiums in an EA game. It’s a huge deal for those fanbases.
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- American (AAC): Army, Charlotte, East Carolina, FAU, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA.
- Conference USA: Delaware (coming later in updates/real life), FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP, Western Kentucky.
- Mountain West: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming.
- Sun Belt: App State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy, ULM.
- MAC: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan.
Why the Ratings Matter for Your Choice
EA didn't just throw these teams in and call it a day. They used a tier system based on how schools performed in the AP Poll over the last decade. This actually determined how much the schools got paid in real life, but for you, it tells you how hard your Dynasty is going to be.
Tier 1 teams like Georgia (95 OVR) and Ohio State (93 OVR) are the juggernauts. If you pick them, you're expected to win a National Championship in Year 1. There’s no room for error.
On the flip side, picking a team like Kennesaw State or Ball State is a total grind. You’re working with overalls in the low 70s. Recruiting is harder. Your stadium is smaller. The "Stadium Pulse" won't shake the screen as much as it does in Death Valley or the Big House. It’s a completely different experience.
The Independent Problem
Notre Dame is the king of the Independents, obviously. But did you know UConn and UMass are also there? Life as an Independent in the game is tricky because you don't have a conference championship game to boost your ranking right before the playoffs.
In the new 12-team playoff format, which is fully modeled in the game, the top four seeds are reserved for conference champions. If you play as an Independent, the highest seed you can ever get is No. 5. You’ll never get a first-round bye. That’s a massive tactical disadvantage that most casual players don't realize until they're 12-0 and still playing in the opening round.
Using Team Builder to Expand the List
If 134 teams aren't enough for you, EA brought back Team Builder. This is a web-based tool where you can create your own school from scratch—logos, jerseys, the whole nine yards.
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You can replace existing teams in the EA Sports College Football 25 teams list with your creations. Want to bring back the Idaho Vandals? You can do that. Want to create a local community college and put them in the SEC just for the chaos? Go for it.
The only catch is that you have to be online to use these teams in Dynasty, and they replace a current FBS team. You can't just add a 135th team.
Actionable Steps for Your First Dynasty
Don't just jump in with your favorite team and hope for the best.
First, decide if you want a "Rebuild" or a "Power Trip." If you want a rebuild, look at the bottom of the Sun Belt or C-USA. The recruitment pipelines in Florida and Texas are easier to tap into if you're coaching a school in those states.
Second, check the rosters. Real player names are in the game for the first time ever because of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). However, a few players opted out. If your favorite quarterback isn't there, he'll be replaced by a generic "QB #10" or something similar.
Lastly, fix the conferences. Before you start your save, take five minutes to look at the Pac-12 and the Independents. The game gives you the power to move teams around. If you hate that the Big Ten has 18 teams, move some back to the Pac-12 and revive the West Coast rivalries. The game is much more fun when the geography makes sense.