By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
The NCAA Senior Vice President, Scott Bearby, sent out an email to Division I Presidents, Athletic Directors, and Conference Commissioners yesterday, four days ahead of the final settlement approval in the House on April 7th.
The purpose of the email was to remind everyone of one of the crucial pieces of the settlement. Students who are affected by roster caps, and are thus cut from their teams, will not lose their athletic scholarships.
Many athletes, former-athletes, and coaches have been protesting the roster caps and the cuts that are preemptively happening as a result of the settlement terms, and according to the email, some have been writing letters to the court objecting to the caps because they are losing their scholarships.
Bearby stated that athletes who have been told they “will not have a roster spot in the 2025-26 academic year…have concluded from that information that they will also not have an athletic scholarship.” He also mentioned the fear athletes have expressed of entering the transfer portal, which is typically cause for cancellation of a scholarship.
He went on to say that “the settlement provides that the new roster limits cannot cause any current scholarship athlete to lose his or her scholarship.” This includes students who enter the transfer portal and ultimately decide to remain at their school.
At the end of the email, he urges programs to remind their coaching staffs to “be mindful” when speaking to to athletes about roster decisions.
One letter that we have covered that makes this mistake is Eddie Reese’s objection letter which was filed in the middle of March. At the end of his 5th paragraph, Reese states “if an athlete enters the portal, their current school can end their scholarship immediately and regardless of whether the athlete ends up changing to another school.”
This question was also somewhat addressed in the 3rd Questions and Answers document released by the NCAA in December as question number 3.
- Question No. 3: Is a student-athlete’s athletics scholarship guaranteed?
- Answer: The proposed settlement does not alter any of the scholarship guarantees that became effective August 1, 2024. With the new scholarship protections, schools cannot reduce, cancel or fail to renew athletics scholarships in NCAA sports for athletics reasons (such as injury, physical or mental illness, athletic ability or performance, contribution to team success or roster management decisions). These requirements continue to apply regardless of any roster management decisions unless and until the student-athlete in question graduates or elects to transfer.
The last sentence states that the colleges cannot reduce, cancel, or fail to renew scholarships until the student-athlete graduates or “elects to transfer”. This wording is a little murky and leaves room for confusion as to what exactly “elects” means, but the email sent out yesterday confirms that entering the portal will not be cause to terminate a scholarship if an athlete chooses to stay at their school.
This provision does not seem to apply to athletes who are choosing to transfer who have not lost their roster spot for the next year.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Athletes Who are Cut Due to Roster Limits Will Not Lose Their Scholarships