The confluence of Missouri State’s entry into the Football Bowl Subdivision and the resurrection of the popular EA Sports College Football video game has been a form of divine marketing intervention for the Springfield school. Missouri State announced in 2024 that it would leave the Football Championship Subdivision and the Missouri Valley Conference for the highest rung of college football.

EA Sports College Football 27

The highly detailed and comprehensive video game, which now features all 138 FBS member schools, generated an estimated $500 million in revenue within its first two weeks of release, just ahead of the Bears’ final season in the FCS. As Missouri State bid adieu to the MVC with an 8-4 record and No. 23 ranking in the final 2024 FCS Coaches Poll, its players, coaches, and fans were already imagining how they and Plaster Stadium would look in digital form on Xbox and PlayStation consoles around the world.

In July of 2025, the Bears’ official pivot into the FBS and Conference USA, Missouri State was officially in the game — and became a relatively popular choice. The Bears were the 69th-most popular team in terms of usage in the 2025-2026 data window, according to a Missouri State official, leading to a payout for MSU that exceeded $100,000 in royalties.

Game Features

The game features Missouri State’s ample jersey and helmet combinations, though the striped helmet recently promoted on MSU’s social media accounts does not appear to be included. Players are rated in the game on a scale of 0-99 from a combination of attributes, including speed, strength, agility, as well as real-life production. Eight Bears had rankings over 75, including Jmariyae Robinson, Breezy Dubar, Ramone Green, Jeron Askren, Matthew Greene, Christian Ford, Josh Joyner, and Mekhi Miller.

Original reporting: Springfield Daily Citizen — read the source article.