‘I’m Not Kidding’: EA Sports Dedicates Month to Capturing Colorado’s Iconic Fan Pride, Ralphie the Buffalo, for College Football 25

Colorado Buffaloes fans have more than just Travis Hunter to celebrate in EA Sports College Football 25 – their beloved mascot, Ralphie, also makes a grand entrance. While the omission of the star quarterback Shedeur Sanders Although the cover initially disappointed fans, his recent confirmation of being included in the game has brought some relief. But now it’s Ralphie who truly steals the show from Shedeur.

The Buffaloes’ mascot has been a symbol of pride for the team since the 1960s. It’s not just any other mascot: Ralphie is a living bison, and the current one, Ember, is the sixth in line. So to truly capture the spirit of Ember, the EA Sports design team did a lot more than generate a lot of buzz.

A month-long virtual makeover for Ralphie Ⅵ

On the DNVR Sports PodcastJake Schwanitz and Harrison Wind were discussing EA Sports’ inclusion of traditional elements like mascots in College Football 25. Schwanitz excitedly revealed: “Ralphie is in the game.” He also shared a surprising detail that “They (EA Sports) said they also spent about a month on his model. Isn’t that crazy? Jake and Harrison Wind both laughed in disbelief. However, a surprised Wind added: “A month on this?” Jake then responded with humor: “She has a lot of hair, bro.”

Schwanitz went on to explain: “I’m not kidding, there’s a whole article about Ralphie and his design. How they want to get the authentic, as you know, buffalo running style. This prompted Wind to playfully joke: “Slower than most buffalo” making the two hosts burst out laughing. Schwanitz then added: “Ralphie Ⅵ (Ember), she’s different. It’s going to be a big year for her. While the animators joked about spending time on a virtual bison, the development team had a good reason for it.

Bevo paved the way for the Buffaloes mascot

Creating realistic mascots proved to be a major challenge for the EA Sports team. Although not all mascots have made it into the game, some four-legged mascots like Ralphie from Colorado and Bevo the Longhorn Ox from Texas are expected to make their virtual debut. This required the development of unique animation rigs, as these quadrupeds move differently than players and bipedal players. The team’s production manager, Christian McLeod, explained that they had created four different devices for the cows and dogs, as well as a special device for Ralphie.

McLeod also revealed that the team first created Bevo, the Texas longhorn steer, to see if they could create Ralphie as well. Even though they had experience creating Bevo, Ralphie still took the longest to create, about a month in total. They say the animation took so long “to make sure Ralphie runs smoothly.” So, whether it’s doing justice to the live mascots or authentically cheering for the crowd in the stadium, it seems the team “I didn’t take no for an answer.”