Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced the start of the EA SPORTS(TM) NCAA(R) Football Challenge presented by Coke Zero. This ultimate college tournament featuring NCAA(R) Football 08 kicks off this Thursday, September 20th at USC and will hit major college campuses around the country in the next few months.

The EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge will offer college football fans the chance to compete with the very best players from around the country, to battle for bragging rights and prizes. EA will visit 12 college campuses including Ohio State, University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech for two days of raw competition.

"The excitement and emotion of NCAA Football is what we’re trying to capture when we bring this Challenge to local college campuses," said Brian Movalson, EA SPORTS Marketing Director. "Additionally, we’re creating the opportunity for gamers across the country to compete and find out who’s the best at NCAA Football 08, and win a fantastic trip to the Granddaddy of All Bowl Games(R), the Rose Bowl in Pasadena."

The college campus tournaments will determine who qualifies for the finals at the Rose Bowl for a chance to win the $10,000 Grand Prize. The first day will be Campus Tournaments where competition will only be open to students. Game day events will be open to students and fans, and will include several different competitions including:

-- Series of three mini competitions throughout the day

-- Longest Field Goal competition

-- Option Dash (two minute drill) competition

-- Mini eight-man tournament competition

"EA has brought excitement and entertainment to the world of sports for years and we’re thrilled to have our site be the host for the EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge presented by Coke Zero," said Mitch Dorger, Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses(R). "EA SPORTS has been a great licensee of ours and we’re excited to extend our relationship in a new way."

The 2007 EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge presented by Coke Zero will test the skills of thousands of gamers on NCAA Football 08, on the Xbox 360(TM) console. To qualify for the 2007 EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge, players can pre-register online at http://www.ncaafootballchallenge.com, the official EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge website, or via onsite registration one hour before event start time. The Campus Tournament contestant positions will be determined on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration will be limited to active students at each participating school. Game Day events will be held on a separate day, and open to the general public on a first come first serve basis.

Consistent with all other challenges in the EA SPORTS Challenge Series, the EA SPORTS NCAA Football Challenge also will have an online component where competitors play against other online players. Winners from the registered online Tournament will then compete against winners of the regional Tournaments for a trip to the Rose Bowl finals and a chance to compete along with the ’College Campus’ Tournament winners for the $10,000 Grand Prize. Please visit http://www.ncaafootballchallenge.com for details to enter and to view the published Tournament dates, schedules and Official Rules for all three sets of tournament - NCAA Challenge Online; NCAA Challenge Regional Tournaments and NCAA Challenge Gameday Events.