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Those who love their college hoops had to cringe at the sight of today’s fiscal year 2011 calendar from EA. If the omission of NCAA Basketball 11 from the list means the end of the franchise (or at least a suspension), then fans could be without a college basketball title in 2010.

It’s obvious the NCAA Basketball series has struggled to overtake 2K’s College Hoops franchise despite the last iteration of College Hoops coming out over two years ago. College Hoops, much like NFL 2K and EA’s MVP Baseball, continues to have a legion of followers who even go so far as to meticulously update the rosters to reflect the current season. EA has struggled winning over 2K basketball believers with Live (though they’ve made advancements) and considering the lesser status of the college title, the title is likely underperforming – especially considering the current economic status. It’s no secret that EA put a lot less marketing effort in last November’s release than in previous years as well.

If this is true, then what happens next? Does EA put the title in reboot phase for a triumphant 2012 return? Does 2K relaunch it’s College Hoops line now that EA is out of the way? Does another company pick up the NCAA license? or does college basketball  go the way of NASCAR for awhile.

Needless to say, this is (potentially) quite disappointing. I’ve always been a fan of the college game, and despite NCAA Basketball’s gameplay drawbacks and relative lack of features when compared to other sports franchises, the series did show some promising improvement this year – enough to warrant a top 10 appearance on my sports games of the year. I truly believe that a college basketball franchise could be a top selling, must buy sports title. With all the passion, the atmoshpere and the uniqueness that is the NCAA Tournament, it’s amazing that one of the greatest spectacles in sport may not be represented on consoles in the years to come.