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?