Louisville basketball among college programs to be included in 2K video game

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Louisville basketball fans will be able to play as the Cardinals in a video game from the makers of the popular NBA 2K franchise.

The U of L men's and women's basketball teams will be included in an upcoming version of NBA 2K, an athletics department spokesperson told The Courier Journal. A release date had not been set as of Thursday, but that's when a 2K truck stopped by the Planet Fitness Kueber Center to scan players' and coaches' faces for their inclusion in the game.

Louisville will also be one of the more than 100 programs included in 2K's standalone college basketball video game (release date TBD). The company's most recent entry in the genre came in 2007: College Hoops 2K8.

2K revealed in a Sept. 4 statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, that it was getting back into the college game with a "college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs from across the country." The company also said fans "won't have to wait long to start seeing your favorite colleges show up in the game.

"We've got big plans for 2027 and beyond and even a few surprises coming in early 2026," it added. "We've proven the quality of the basketball experience we can deliver for years and have every intention to bring that same level of quality to college hoops."

In addition to Louisville, a 2K scanning truck has also visited Duke, Houston, Illinois, Kentucky and North Carolina. According to an Oct. 29 report from Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas will also be included in the game.

EA Sports, which last released a college basketball video game in 2009, teased a potential revival with a post to X on June 30. The day of 2K's announcement roughly two months later, however, Matt Brown of Extra Points reported EA Sports had "rescinded" its plans because multiple schools had decided to work with 2K.

How hungry are fans for a new college basketball video game? Factory-sealed copies of College Hoops 2K8 are going for as much as $249.95 on eBay.

This story will be updated.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville among college basketball programs coming to 2K video game

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