Former University of Texas Star Second Youngest Cover Athlete in EA SPORTS History
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2007--Electronic
Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:ERTS) today revealed that former University of
Texas basketball star Kevin Durant, the first college freshman to
receive the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy as men's basketball
college player of the year, has been chosen to be on the cover of the
EA SPORTS™ videogame NCAA® March Madness® 08. Durant, 18, is
the second youngest athlete -- and just the fourth teenager -- ever
featured on an EA SPORTS game cover.
The Longhorns' star, who likely will be the first or second pick
in the NBA Draft later this week, joins an exclusive list of
world-class teenagers to be selected to the cover of an EA SPORTS
videogame franchise, taking his place alongside Freddy Adu (FIFA
Soccer 06) of the MLS Real Salt Lake, Carmelo Anthony (NCAA March
Madness 04) of the NBA Denver Nuggets and Wayne Rooney (FIFA 06 in
United Kingdom) of Manchester United.
EA SPORTS Teenage Cover Athletes:
NO. PLAYER AGE EA SPORTS FRANCHISE
---- ----------------- ---------- ------------------------------------
1 Freddy Adu 16 years FIFA Soccer 06 (North America)
2 Kevin Durant 18 years NCAA March Madness 08
3 Carmelo Anthony 19 years NCAA March Madness 04
4 Wayne Rooney 19 years FIFA 06 (Europe)
Durant's appearance on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08 also
marks the first time that alums from the same school have been on EA
SPORTS covers at the same time. Former University of Texas quarterback
Vince Young is the Madden™ NFL 08 cover athlete. Durant and Young
are in the company of an all-star group of EA SPORTS cover stars that
this year includes Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona, FIFA Soccer 08), Gilbert
Arenas (Washington Wizards, NBA LIVE 08), Jared Zabransky (Boise State
University, NCAA Football 08) and Tony Stewart on NASCAR 08.
Durant is the fourth former Texas athlete to appear on an EA
SPORTS cover. Former Texas baseball star and 2005 NCAA College World
Series MVP David Maroul appeared on EA SPORTS' first college baseball
video game, MVP 06 NCAA Baseball. Ricky Williams, the 1998 Heisman
Trophy winner from Texas, appeared on the cover of NCAA Football 2000.
"A lot of great players have been chosen to be on the cover of EA
SPORTS videogames, and it is an honor to be in their company," said
Durant. "When I see the game on store shelves, it is really going to
hit home that it's me on the cover of March Madness 08. I'm going to
be first in line to buy all the copies to hand out to all my friends.
It's like a dream come true."
EA SPORTS' relationship with Durant, negotiated through Goodwin
Sports Management, includes appearing on the cover of NCAA March
Madness 08, participating in the development of EA's basketball games
and promotional appearances. Last month, Durant conducted body motion
capture at EA Canada and his body movements, individual moves and
playing style were captured, digitized and will become the life-like
movement of the virtual players in future versions of EA's basketball
games.
This season Durant swept all seven national college player of the
year awards. In addition to the Naismith (presented by AT&T and the
Atlanta Tip-off Club) and Wooden (presented by the Los Angeles
Athletic Club) honors, he earned the Oscar Robertson Trophy from the
U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Adolph Rupp Trophy from the
Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky, and was named Player of the
Year by the Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball
Coaches and CBS/Chevrolet. The multi-talented swingman was the only
unanimous choice to the Associated Press All-America first team, and
the first freshman to garner Big 12 Conference Player of the Year
accolades. He led the league in scoring (25.8 ppg), rebounding (11.1
rpg) and blocked shots (67). Durant was the only player in the country
to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring (fourth) and
rebounding (fourth), and he finished second nationally in
double-doubles (20). He led the Longhorns to a 25-10 record (12-4 Big
12) and a No. 11 ranking in the final AP poll. Durant set the school
and Big 12 single-season scoring mark (903 points) and became just the
second freshman in NCAA history to top the 900-point plateau (965 by
Chris Jackson, LSU, 1988-89).
NCAA March Madness 08 is in development at EA Canada in Burnaby,
B.C., and will be available for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer
entertainment system, the PlayStation®2 and the Xbox 360™ video
game and entertainment system from Microsoft. It will ship to stores
during the college basketball season. The game is not yet rated by the
ESRB.
To learn more about the game visit www.marchmadness08.com. Box art
of NCAA March Madness 08 and images of Durant participating in motion
capture at EA Canada earlier this year can be downloaded at
http://info.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City,
California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software
company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and
distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems,
personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic
Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™,
EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted
revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one
million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be
found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and
universities committed to supporting academic and athletic
opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than
1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000
student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and
III sports. For more information, go to www.ncaa.org.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
All rights reserved. All names, logos, team icons, and mascots
associated with the NCAA, universities, and conferences are the
exclusive property of the respective institutions. NCAA and March
Madness are trademarks or registered trademark of the National
Collegiate Athletic Association. The "Officially Licensed Collegiate
Products" label is the exclusive property of The Collegiate Licensing
Company. "PlayStation" and "PLAYSTATION" are registered trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 360 are
trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.