Anyone know if EA set up shop in Orlando so they could be right next to Full Sail University? Is that why?

I doubt it - proximity to entry-level staff isn't really a priority.
You could ask their FAQ though:

Why are you located in Orlando? Is there any related industry around you?
Central Florida is a great place to live and work and enjoys a lower cost of living than most other game industry locations. One of our founders grew up in Florida and believed Orlando would be a great place to start the studio.

There are certainly adjacent industries to EA in the area including a center of excellence for modeling & simulation for the country as well as a burgeoning digital arts community which include the DAVE school, FIEA, and Full Sail to name a few. Orlando also has a hand full of game industry companies and digital media companies that are growing rapidly.[/quote]

Let's move this to the Lounge.

Anyone know if EA set up shop in Orlando so they could be right next to Full Sail University? Is that why?

Tiburon was founded in 1994 by people who lived in the area. They had several hits of their own, and they had also worked with EA on ports of many titles.

Full Sail was an analog film and audio trade school started in 1979. They were entirely analog until 1995 when they added a digital media associates degree. Their first game-specific track was started in 1998 with no graduates until more than a year after EA acquired Tiburon.


MobyGames shows Tiburon working closely with EA for almost 3 years before the acquisition: annual Madden ports starting in 1995, annual NHL starting in 1995, annual NCAA starting in 1996, plus some original IP coming from the studio.

EA purchased the studio after they had completed many projects and had shown a talented team. EA and Tiburon started working together almost two years before Full Sail became a university (it was a college) and acquired Tiburon the year before Full Sail created their very first games-specific digital media program.

Based on that I'm rather confident the answer is no.