New Roster Limits Set by House v. NCAA
By Kristi Dosh
Last Updated on June 8, 2025
One of the seismic shifts taking place as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement is the abolishment of scholarship limits and implementation of new roster limits in Division I for those who participate in the settlement.
If a school chooses to opt into the settlement for revenue sharing, then it must also abide by new roster limits. As you can see below, many of the new roster limits are lower than the average roster these sports carried previously. Although schools can now offer new scholarships up to the roster limit, many athletes have been (or will be) cut in order to get rosters under the new limits.
Designated Student Athletes
Ahead of the final settlement being approved, many schools began cutting athletes to get under the roster limits. However, the judge required an amendment to the settlement before it was approved in an attempt to protect those athletes.
As a result, any current college athletes cut from teams because of roster limits, in addition to any recruits with offers pulled, will be labeled as a “Designated Student Athlete.” DSAs will not count against roster limits at their original institution or any institution where they transfer. They will remain DSAs for the remainder of their collegiate eligibility.
Division I Rosters Will Shrink
Although DSAs may have some protection in the coming years, eventually rosters will shrink down to the new sizes, meaning a loss in opportunities available to athletes. Some research has shown as many as 13,000 roster spots will be lost.
Walk-ons have been a huge part of college football, in particular. As USA Today pointed out, Nebraska had 180 football players on its roster, while Texas A&M had 143. Under new roster limits, football will only carry 105 athletes.
New Scholarships Can Be Created
It’s not all bad news. Schools do have the option to increase scholarships in sports where the previous scholarship limits were lower than the new roster limits. It was initially anticipated that not many would do this, as the value of new scholarships up to $2.5 million will count against the amount a school can distribute for revenue sharing.
However, some schools have announced they will be fully funding scholarships for all of their rosters up to the new limits, including Clemson, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Read all of our House settlement breakdowns
New Roster Limits
| Sport | Previous Scholarship Limit | Previous Roster Size (Average) | New Roster Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle (M&W) | 3.6 | 6 | 12 |
| Stunt (M&W) | 14 | 38.5 | 65 |
| Baseball (M) | 11.7 | 40.9 | 34 |
| Basketball (M) | 13 | 17 | 15 |
| Cross Country (M) | 5 | 13.9 | 17 |
| Fencing (M) | 4.5 | 17.4 | 24 |
| Football (M) | 85 | 124.3 | 105 |
| Golf (M) | 4.5 | 10 | 9 |
| Gymnastics (M) | 6.3 | 20.5 | 20 |
| Ice Hockey (M) | 18 | 28.6 | 26 |
| Lacrosse (M) | 12.6 | 38.8 | 48 |
| Skiing (M) | 6.3 | 12.1 | 16 |
| Soccer (M) | 9.9 | 29.7 | 28 |
| Swimming & Diving (M) | 9.9 | 20.9 | 30 |
| Tennis (M) | 4.5 | 10 | 10 |
| Track and Field (M) | 12.6 | 34.7 | 45 |
| Volleyball (M) | 4.5 | 15.3 | 18 |
| Water Polo (M) | 4.5 | 21.1 | 24 |
| Wrestling (M) | 9.9 | 29.4 | 30 |
| Basketball (W) | 15 | 14.8 | 15 |
| Beach Volleyball (W) | 6 | 18.1 | 19 |
| Bowling (W) | 5 | 8.7 | 11 |
| Cross Country (W) | 6 | 13.5 | 17 |
| Equestrian (W) | 15 | 28.3 | 50 |
| Fencing (W) | 5 | 15.2 | 24 |
| Field Hockey (W) | 12 | 21.6 | 27 |
| Golf (W) | 6 | 7.9 | 9 |
| Gymnastics (W) | 12 | 19.6 | 20 |
| Ice Hockey (W) | 18 | 23.3 | 26 |
| Lacrosse (W) | 12 | 24.8 | 38 |
| Rowing (W) | 20 | 42.4 | 68 |
| Skiing (W) | 7 | 11.7 | 16 |
| Soccer (W) | 14 | 27.3 | 28 |
| Softball (W) | 12 | 21.8 | 25 |
| Swimming & Diving (W) | 14 | 23 | 30 |
| Tennis (W) | 8 | 9.4 | 10 |
| Track and Field (W) | 18 | 32.5 | 45 |
| Triathlon (W) | 6.5 | 7.6 | 14 |
| Tumbling (W) | 14 | 25.9 | 55 |
| Volleyball (W) | 12 | 16.7 | 18 |
| Water Polo (W) | 8 | 19 | 24 |
| Wrestling (W) | 10 | 14.2 | 30 |
Research support provided by Lauren Galaska
