College football season is officially upon us. EA Sports College Football 26 launched in early access on Monday for anyone who purchased the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle (which includes Madden NFL 26).
With its launch, we now have the official team ratings for all 125-plus schools. But when it comes to taking a job as head coach of a program, there's more to take into account than just the current ratings.
For Dynasty, school prestige plays a huge role in the success of a program. As a quick reminder, Team Prestige is a collective grade assigned to a program based on the "My School" grades (ie. Academic Prestige, Brand Exposure, Pro Potential, Athletic Facilities, etc.). A program's Team Prestige is ranked from 0 to 5 stars in half star increments. Schools with high "My School" grades often translate to higher Team Prestige stars.
While team ratings are important to take into account, Team Prestige plays a pivotal role in recruiting and the caliber of players who want to play for your program, which can translate to prolonged success.
While there are some exceptions, a higher Team Prestige rating generally means better "My School" grades for individual categories. EA Sports College Football 26 has made a few changes to "My School" grades, including the addition of the Conference Prestige dealbreaker. EA has also revamped how Pro Potential has been calculated.
Previously, this grade estimated a program’s ability to produce NFL talent based on the current roster. Now, Pro Potential is based on a school’s historical draft results over the past four seasons, and it’s tracked by position.
When trying to determine which school you want to join in Dynasty, you'll want to look at everything from ratings to team prestige to individual "My School" categories. If you want to build a program from the ground up, try selecting a school with a lower star rating. If you want to make an immediate championship run, go for one of the top-tier programs, like Georgia or Alabama.
As we previously noted, there are only five teams with Five stars: Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. The rest are 4.5 stars or below. But remember, this can change throughou the course of a dynasty.
- Air Force Falcons - 1.5 stars
- Akron Zips - .5 stars
- Alabama Crimson Tide - 5 stars
- App St. Mountaineers - 2 stars
- Arizona Wildcats - 3 stars
- Arizona State Sun Devils - 3.5 stars
- Arkansas Razorbacks - 3.5 stars
- Arkansas State Red Wolves - 1 stars
- Army Black Knights - 2.5 stars
- Auburn Tigers - 3.5 stars
- Ball State Cardinals - 1 stars
- Baylor Bears - 3.5 stars
- Boise State Broncos - 3.5 stars
- Boston College Eagles - 3 stars
- Bowling Green Falcons - 1.5 stars
- Buffalo Bulls - 1 stars
- BYU Cougars - 3 stars
- California Golden Bears - 3 stars
- C. Michigan Chippewas - 1.5 stars
- Charlotte 49ers - 1 stars
- Cincinnati Bearcats - 3 stars
- Clemson Tigers - 4.5 stars
- Coastal Carolina Chaticleers - 1.5 stars
- Colorado Buffaloes - 3.5 stars
- Colorado State Rams - 1.5 stars
- Delaware Blue Hens - 1 stars
- Duke Blue Devils- 2.5 stars
- East Carolina Pirates - 1.5 stars
- E. Michigan Eagles - 1.5 stars
- Florida Gators - 4 stars
- FAU Owls - 1.5 stars
- FIU Panthers - 1 stars
- Florida State Seminals - 4 stars
- Fresno State Bulldogs - 2 stars
- Georgia Bulldogs - 5 stars
- Georgia Southern Eagles - 1 stars
- Georgia State Panthers - 1 stars
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - 3 stars
- Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors - 1 stars
- Houston Cougars - 3 stars
- Illinois Fighting Illini - 3.5 stars
- Indiana Hoosiers - 3.5 stars
- Iowa Hawkeyes - 3.5 stars
- Iowa State Cyclones - 3 stars
- Jax State Gamecocks - 1 stars
- James Madison Dukes - 1.5 stars
- Kansas Jayhawks - 3 stars
- Kansas State Wildcats - 3.5 stars
- Kennesaw State Owls - 1 stars
- Kent State Golden Flashes - .5 stars
- Kentucky Wildcats - 3.5 stars
- Liberty Flames - 1.5 stars
- Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns - 1.5 stars
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs - 1.5 stars
- Louisville Cardinals - 3 stars
- LSU Tigers - 4.5 stars
- Marshall Thundering Herd - 2 stars
- Maryland Terrapins - 3 stars
- Memphis Tigers - 2.5 stars
- Miami Hurricanes - 4 stars
- Miami (OH) Redhawks - 2 stars
- Michigan Wolverines - 5 stars
- Michigan State Spartants - 3 stars
- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders - 1.5 stars
- Minnesota Golden Tophers - 3 stars
- Missiissippi State Bulldogs - 2.5 stars
- Missouri Tigers - 3 stars
- Missouri State Bears - 1 stars
- Navy Midshipment - 2 stars
- NC State Wolfpack - 3.5 stars
- Nebraska Cornuskers - 3.5 stars
- Nevada Wolf Pack - 1.5 stars
- New Mexico Lobos - 1 stars
- New Mexico State Aggies - 1 stars
- North Carolina Tar Heels - 3.5 stars
- North Texas Mean Green - 2 stars
- N. Illinois Huskies - 1.5 stars
- Northwestern Wildcats - 2.5 stars
- Notre Dame Figthing Irish - 5 stars
- Ohio Bobcats - 1.5 stars
- Ohio State Buckeyes - 5 stars
- Oklahoma Sooners - 4.5 stars
- Oklahoma State Cowboys - 3.5 stars
- Old Dominion Monarchs - 1 stars
- Ole Miss Rebels - 4 stars
- Oregon Ducks - 4.5 stars
- Oregon State Beavers - 2.5 stars
- Penn State Nittany Lions - 4.5 stars
- Pittsburgh Panthers - 3.5 stars
- Purdue Boilermakers - 2 stars
- Rice Owls - 1 stars
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights - 2.5 stars
- Sam Houston Bearkats - 1.5 stars
- San Diego State Aztecs - 2 stars
- San Jose State Spartans - 2.5 stars
- SMU Mustangs - 3.5 stars
- South Alabama Jaguars - 1.5 stars
- South Carolina Gamecocks - 3.5 stars
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles - 2 stars
- Stanford Cardinal - 2.5 stars
- Syracuse Orange - 3 stars
- TCU Horned Frogs - 3.5 stars
- Temple Owls - 1.5 stars
- Tennessee Volunteers - 4 stars
- Texas Longhorns - 4.5 stars
- Texas A&M Aggies - 4 stars
- Texas State Bobcats - 2 stars
- Texas Tech Red Raiders - 3.5 stars
- Toledo Rockets - 1.5 stars
- Troy Trojans - 2 stars
- Tulane Green Wave - 2.5 stars
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane - 2 stars
- UAB Blazers - 1.5 stars
- UCF Knights - 3 stars
- UCLA Bruins - 3.5 stars
- UCONN Huskies - 1.5 stars
- UL Monroe Warhawks - 1.5 stars
- UMASS Minutemen - 1.5 stars
- UNLV Rebels - 1.5 stars
- USC Trojans - 4 stars
- USF Bulls - 1.5 stars
- Utah Utes - 3.5 stars
- Utah State Aggies - 2 stars
- UTEP Miners - 1.5 stars
- UTSA Roadrunners - 1.5 stars
- Vanderbilt Commodores - 2.5 stars
- Virginia Cavaliers - 2.5 stars
- Virginia Tech Hokies - 3 stars
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons - 2.5 stars
- Washington Huskies - 4 stars
- Washington State Cougars - 3 stars
- West Virginia Mountaineers - 3 stars
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers - 2 stars
- Western Michigan Broncos - 1.5 stars
- Wisconsin Badgers - 3.5 stars
- Wyoming Cowboys - 2 stars
EA Sports College Football 26 is now available in early access. It will release globally on July 10th for Xbox Series X|S and PS5. Which team will you be doing with your first Dynasty?