By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
After we reported yesterday how the SEC and Big Ten were discussing new roster limits, the NCAA is now reportedly set to eliminate scholarship limits across all sports beginning in the 2025-26 season.
According to Yahoo Sports, the new revenue-sharing model will see by-sport scholarship restrictions eliminated, allowing schools to offer scholarships to the entirety of their rosters.
New roster limits won’t be final until the approval of settlement terms in the House case, but in swimming & diving, the limits are expected to be 23 men and 35 women, at least in the SEC and Big Ten.
The elimination of scholarship limits comes as the House case settlement opens the door for schools to pay student-athletes NIL money, and therefore, it wouldn’t make sense for there to be only a certain number of scholarships available when the other athletes could still earn money through NIL.
During a meeting on Tuesday involving the power conference commissioners, new roster limits for football were reportedly set at 105, meaning there will be a 20-scholarship increase compared to the current limit which is 85.
Baseball, which has a scholarship restriction of 11.7, is expected to have a roster cap of 34, while softball and volleyball are expected to have roster limits of 25 and 18, respectively, a stark increase from their current scholarship limit of 12.
Another change is that all sports will now be considered “equivalency sports,” meaning partial scholarships can be distributed to all athletes. Previously, sports such as football and basketball were considered “head-count sports” requiring players on scholarship to receive a full grant.
Schools won’t be required to use scholarships for all of their roster spots, leaving room for walk-on opportunities.
Yahoo Sports reports that power conference programs are expecting to spend an additional $3 million to $7 million in additional scholarships annually.
Settlement terms in the House v. NCAA case are expected to be filed Friday with details on the distribution of the $2.77 billion in back pay to former athletes along with specifics of the new revenue-sharing model.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA Expected To Eliminate Scholarship Limits Across All Sports