College Football Scholarships move from 85 to 105 - What are the Major Impacts

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99Gopher

99Gopher

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Well it's official, the college football scholarship limit is moving from 85 to 105 as a result of the House vs NCAA settlement. In addition, that officially eliminates all walk-ons. Everyone on the roster will need to be on scholarship. I heard Chip Scoggins say that in his conversation with Coyle that he had indicated that he told the Boards of Regents that they had no choice but to pay out the full profit-sharing amt of $20M+, which I assume they have no other choice but to fund the additional 20 scholarships as everyone in the B1G will.

However, I just read today's article in the "Athletic" that details all the changes to the scholarship limits for all collegiate sports as a result of the settlement. I have attached the link below if you want to read it. All I can say I know many people on this board are general sports fans and enjoy following a number of teams. However, if you read this article you quickly get a sense of how these new scholarship levels are going to decimate the Olympic sports. As you'll see there are well over 200+ new scholarships added and I assume many colleges are just going to have to cut programs instead of complying. For example, Baseball is going from 11.7 scholarships to 34, Women's Track & Field goes from 18 to 45, M & W Hockey goes from 18 to 26, Swimming (M) 9.9 to 30 & (W) goes 14 to 30. Wrestling (M) 9.9 to 30.

Full Athletic article:
www.nytimes.com

105 is college football's new key roster number. What will it change?

The new system allows schools flexibility to decide how many scholarships within the roster limit they want to give out.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

For those interested, I will include the link to the "College Football Enquirer" podcast hosted by Dan Wetzel, Pat Forde, & Ross Dellenger from Yahoo Sports as they discuss this for about a 1/2 hr.

Safe say the college sports landscape may look a lot different in two years and likely a new model might need to be found to train our Olympic athletes outside of college for some sports.
 







Ex-college football walk-ons conflicted as House v. NCAA settlement leaves future uncertain for underdogs​

Walk-ons hold a legendary place in college football lore. There's the story of Rudy Ruettiger, a pint-sized defensive end who was carried off the field by teammates at Notre Dame. Clemson's Dabo Swinney, a two-time national championship-winning coach, started his career as a walk-on for Gene Stallings at Alabama before launching a legendary coaching career. Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield became the first former walk-on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and was selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft.

"They're the fabric of college football," Burlsworth Trophy chairman Marty Burlsworth told CBS Sports. "That term is iconic, just as quarterback or first down."

For the Burlsworth family, the story of walk-ons is personal. Brandon Burlsworth, Marty's brother, is regarded as one of the greatest walk-ons of all time. After visiting his in-state Arkansas Razorbacks, Burlsworth turned down smaller offers to walk on at his dream school in 1994. He went on to develop into an All-American offensive guard and was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Eleven days later, Burlsworth tragically died in a car accident. His family helped found the Burlsworth Trophy, which is presented to the top player in college football who started his career as a walk-on.

"I remember visiting and getting to see his name over his locker," Marty Burlsworth said. "I'm like, wow, that's the ultimate. In Arkansas, it's all Razorback, Razorback through and through the state. Just to be able to throw that jersey on for young men, to be able to put that jersey on … and be part of that team is an incredible thing."

Unfortunately, that opportunity could soon change. The House v. NCAA settlement that was filed last week is expected to ultimately push the NCAA to cap football rosters at 105 slots, all of which will be eligible for recruited scholarship players. It's unclear what teams would be willing -- or able -- to fill every eligible spot, but it's rare that the big-money teams in college athletics fail to leverage advantages. With it, the opportunity for non-FBS athletes to don their beloved jerseys becomes far more difficult.

"When I first heard the rumor of it, it was just disbelief, that it would be crazy," Burlsworth said. "A lot of our winners are high profile with great success. It's just unbelievable that it would even be considered to eliminate that type of opportunity for players. It's mind boggling, is the best way to put it, that it would even be considered."

If the trophy is diminished by the game evolving, it will be disappointing for an award that has truly found the best and brightest in recent years. Heisman winner Baker Mayfield won the award in back-to-back seasons. Two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett IV captured the award in 2022. NFL starting QB Aidan O'Connell was a finalist his last year at Purdue. Former Clemson wide receiver Hunter Renfrow won the award and went on to post a 1,000-yard season with the Raiders.

Former Washington State quarterback Luke Falk didn't have any FBS offers coming out of high school. When an opportunity to join Mike Leach as a walk-on opened, he jumped at the opportunity. Falk was deemed not good enough for the scout team as a first-year player but ultimately threw for nearly 15,000 yards and was a three-time Burlsworth finalist before winning the award in 2017.

"I think for me, that award is the best award in college football," Falk told CBS Sports. "I've shown people the plaque I had in my office and there's such admiration for that award now because I think people have such a healthy respect for the walk-on way and people that succeeded like that."

Granted, the issues addressed in the settlement are real. In 2024, multiple well-monied schools reportedly used NIL money as a replacement for scholarships, essentially increasing their recruited roster size over comparable foes. With unlimited rosters, there's theoretically no limit to the amount of talent that SEC and Big Ten teams could horde financially.

Putting a cap of 105 on the entire roster allows schools to dramatically expand their scholarship roster but limits them from using NIL to circumvent the rules. Ultimately, though, this is the tradeoff.

"Everybody loves the underdog stories," former Clemson walk-on William Cockerill said. "You're going to lose those big-time stories of your Hunter Renfrows, your Baker Mayfields, the Clay Matthews, J.J. Watts -- these are walk-ons and became household names. You're going to lose a little bit of that because saying a guy who's at the bottom of the roster doesn't have the same allure as being a walk-on."

www.cbssports.com

Ex-college football walk-ons conflicted as House v. NCAA settlement leaves future uncertain for underdogs

Traditional walk-on spots could severely dwindle at some of the higher-profile schools
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!
 





one way colleges and universities can save money. Do away with the red shirt year, the extra year for injury. Get 4 years to use up the eligibility, no excuses accepted. Will save app. 30 to 40 percent in scholarships.
 

CWCWCW said:
Could be, but I am not certain. Perhaps Texas, Alabama and Georgia will accumulate more 4 and 5 stars. Keeping 105 of them engaged will be difficult. The transfer portal will become hideous.
Click to expand...
Completely agree, wait until they implement these new scholarship limits and the following year in the portal the volume will be horrendous. Unlike the old days where the schools almost owned you the kids are going to go to an Alabama and realize their chance of playing isn't great with the new batch of 4 & 5 stars coming in and off they go to the portal. I'm not going to be surprised if I see 20-30 kids go in from a team.
 

Is this just for Div 1, or all the rest too?

I also look to schools shedding sports to get to their division minimum, which is 16 for Div 1.

There may be a lot fewer schools a player can find. Although, I can imagine some schools and conferences becoming focused on other sports than football. Or seeing more single sport conferences like the WCHA.
 

How are scholarship limits compliant with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890?

Serious question. Counselors?
 




Minnesota is about to have worse recruiting classes, sign more transfer guys from the likes of Alabama and Clemson and have more guys transfer to the likes of Ball State.

The Portal will become even more essential to recruiting for FBS's middle and lower classes.
 

CWCWCW said:
Could be, but I am not certain. Perhaps Texas, Alabama and Georgia will accumulate more 4 and 5 stars. Keeping 105 of them engaged will be difficult. The transfer portal will become hideous.
Click to expand...
Yes this is likely. The blue bloods will become bizarro farm systems for schools like Minnesota.

Scouting time might be better spent with a hidden drone over Georgia's practices than visiting high schools.
 

important to remember - one of the changes is that football programs now have the option to provide partial scholarships.

So, for instance, a school could decide to have 85 players on full scholarships and 30 on partial scholarships to hit the 105 roster limit.

in reality, most teams do not have 80 or 85 players who actually make contributions. there are players who are red-shirting or maybe play a few snaps on special teams or late in blow-outs. so some of those could be on partial scholarships. the players who came in as walk-ons in the past could get a partial scholarship.

I could see the G5 schools doing a lot of that to manage expenses.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
important to remember - one of the changes is that football programs now have the option to provide partial scholarships.

So, for instance, a school could decide to have 85 players on full scholarships and 30 on partial scholarships to hit the 105 roster limit.

in reality, most teams do not have 80 or 85 players who actually make contributions. there are players who are red-shirting or maybe play a few snaps on special teams or late in blow-outs. so some of those could be on partial scholarships. the players who came in as walk-ons in the past could get a partial scholarship.

I could see the G5 schools doing a lot of that to manage expenses.
Click to expand...
I thought there were no more partial scholarships? Or is that just certain sports?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
important to remember - one of the changes is that football programs now have the option to provide partial scholarships.

So, for instance, a school could decide to have 85 players on full scholarships and 30 on partial scholarships to hit the 105 roster limit.

in reality, most teams do not have 80 or 85 players who actually make contributions. there are players who are red-shirting or maybe play a few snaps on special teams or late in blow-outs. so some of those could be on partial scholarships. the players who came in as walk-ons in the past could get a partial scholarship.

I could see the G5 schools doing a lot of that to manage expenses.
Click to expand...
This is the best case outcome. Being able to reward many more of the walk-ons who work hard in practice and provide depth and energy to the program. I agree it would be huge at mid and lower tier FBS schools. Love it.

The cynic in me says it ends up as a bunch more 4* guys sitting the bench at the most prestigious programs and transferring out when not everyone gets to play.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
I thought there were no more partial scholarships? Or is that just certain sports?
Click to expand...
I believe all sports (including football) will now be equivalency sports, meaning you can divide up the scholarships however you want (...assuming for that sport the scholarships offered is something less than the roster limit).
 

BleedGopher said:

Ex-college football walk-ons conflicted as House v. NCAA settlement leaves future uncertain for underdogs​

Walk-ons hold a legendary place in college football lore. There's the story of Rudy Ruettiger, a pint-sized defensive end who was carried off the field by teammates at Notre Dame. Clemson's Dabo Swinney, a two-time national championship-winning coach, started his career as a walk-on for Gene Stallings at Alabama before launching a legendary coaching career. Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield became the first former walk-on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and was selected No. 1 in the NFL Draft.

"They're the fabric of college football," Burlsworth Trophy chairman Marty Burlsworth told CBS Sports. "That term is iconic, just as quarterback or first down."

For the Burlsworth family, the story of walk-ons is personal. Brandon Burlsworth, Marty's brother, is regarded as one of the greatest walk-ons of all time. After visiting his in-state Arkansas Razorbacks, Burlsworth turned down smaller offers to walk on at his dream school in 1994. He went on to develop into an All-American offensive guard and was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Eleven days later, Burlsworth tragically died in a car accident. His family helped found the Burlsworth Trophy, which is presented to the top player in college football who started his career as a walk-on.

"I remember visiting and getting to see his name over his locker," Marty Burlsworth said. "I'm like, wow, that's the ultimate. In Arkansas, it's all Razorback, Razorback through and through the state. Just to be able to throw that jersey on for young men, to be able to put that jersey on … and be part of that team is an incredible thing."

Unfortunately, that opportunity could soon change. The House v. NCAA settlement that was filed last week is expected to ultimately push the NCAA to cap football rosters at 105 slots, all of which will be eligible for recruited scholarship players. It's unclear what teams would be willing -- or able -- to fill every eligible spot, but it's rare that the big-money teams in college athletics fail to leverage advantages. With it, the opportunity for non-FBS athletes to don their beloved jerseys becomes far more difficult.

"When I first heard the rumor of it, it was just disbelief, that it would be crazy," Burlsworth said. "A lot of our winners are high profile with great success. It's just unbelievable that it would even be considered to eliminate that type of opportunity for players. It's mind boggling, is the best way to put it, that it would even be considered."

If the trophy is diminished by the game evolving, it will be disappointing for an award that has truly found the best and brightest in recent years. Heisman winner Baker Mayfield won the award in back-to-back seasons. Two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett IV captured the award in 2022. NFL starting QB Aidan O'Connell was a finalist his last year at Purdue. Former Clemson wide receiver Hunter Renfrow won the award and went on to post a 1,000-yard season with the Raiders.

Former Washington State quarterback Luke Falk didn't have any FBS offers coming out of high school. When an opportunity to join Mike Leach as a walk-on opened, he jumped at the opportunity. Falk was deemed not good enough for the scout team as a first-year player but ultimately threw for nearly 15,000 yards and was a three-time Burlsworth finalist before winning the award in 2017.

"I think for me, that award is the best award in college football," Falk told CBS Sports. "I've shown people the plaque I had in my office and there's such admiration for that award now because I think people have such a healthy respect for the walk-on way and people that succeeded like that."

Granted, the issues addressed in the settlement are real. In 2024, multiple well-monied schools reportedly used NIL money as a replacement for scholarships, essentially increasing their recruited roster size over comparable foes. With unlimited rosters, there's theoretically no limit to the amount of talent that SEC and Big Ten teams could horde financially.

Putting a cap of 105 on the entire roster allows schools to dramatically expand their scholarship roster but limits them from using NIL to circumvent the rules. Ultimately, though, this is the tradeoff.

"Everybody loves the underdog stories," former Clemson walk-on William Cockerill said. "You're going to lose those big-time stories of your Hunter Renfrows, your Baker Mayfields, the Clay Matthews, J.J. Watts -- these are walk-ons and became household names. You're going to lose a little bit of that because saying a guy who's at the bottom of the roster doesn't have the same allure as being a walk-on."

www.cbssports.com

Ex-college football walk-ons conflicted as House v. NCAA settlement leaves future uncertain for underdogs

Traditional walk-on spots could severely dwindle at some of the higher-profile schools
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...
I suspect we will see recruits who would normally walk-on go to lower level schools on scholarship and attempt to work their way up via transfer portal. If they are good enough, they will find a way onto P4 rosters eventually.
 

Jack jones said:
one way colleges and universities can save money. Do away with the red shirt year, the extra year for injury. Get 4 years to use up the eligibility, no excuses accepted. Will save app. 30 to 40 percent in scholarships.
Click to expand...
Ummm, not really. Eliminating the red shirt would just change who the scholarship is going to - the number of players remains the same. Just that now someone would be off the team a year earlier and replaced by someone else.

Costs don't change.
 

proudgopher said:
With the realignment of conferences, NIL, the portal, etc. I have pretty much checked out of college sports. I will always be a Gopher but my support has withered greatly.
Click to expand...
Kinda where I'm at. I used to try and get the best sports package I could find. Now I don't even sign up for anything, just watch broadcast tv. I'm not using my money to pay for and support this new system.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
I thought there were no more partial scholarships? Or is that just certain sports?
Click to expand...

this came as a surprise to me. the early reports on the House settlement indicated or suggested that partial scholarships would be eliminated - but that turned out to be inaccurate. (or I misunderstood what was being reported)

the idea was/is that all sports should be on the same footing, instead of a system where some sports (football) only gave full schollies and other sports (baseball) gave partials. so instead of getting rid of partials, the settlement made partials available for all sports, and each school and sport gets to choose how scholarships will be awarded - up to the roster limit.

so, for instance, if the roster limit in baseball is 35, a school like MN could choose to award 35 full schollies for baseball, 35 partials, or a mix of full and partials - up to the roster limit. and the same for football - so the sports are on the same footing.
 

Teams are not going to have 20 more scholarship guys on the level of the other 85. But there will be improvement in those 20 spots. Maybe not all of them but certainly some. This is probably bad for lower level FBS and FCS schools I'm guessing.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Teams are not going to have 20 more scholarship guys on the level of the other 85. But there will be improvement in those 20 spots. Maybe not all of them but certainly some. This is probably bad for lower level FBS and FCS schools I'm guessing.
Click to expand...
This will be rough for the Group of 5 schools as now some of their best guys will be pulled into the P4 schools with the additional 20 spots. Because by going into those P4 schools those kids will be part of the revenue sharing process and get some $$$ as well.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
How are scholarship limits compliant with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890?

Serious question. Counselors?
Click to expand...
I think there isn’t a limit of 105 though. They could put 250 kids on scholarship who are football players. They’re only allowed to roster/practice/play 105 though.
 

Does this mean the donation portion of the season tickets will go up?
 

My thought most all football and basketball scholarships are endowed. Somebody donated money to invest to pay for a scholarship. After 100 plus years they should have scholarships covered for perpetuity barring civil war, WWIII, rioting in the streets etc. So there is no cost in scholarships or shouldn't be. They are paying 50 people to raise money.
 

Some guy said:
I think there isn’t a limit of 105 though. They could put 250 kids on scholarship who are football players. They’re only allowed to roster/practice/play 105 though.
Click to expand...

That’s not my understanding, but I’m not sure anyone has read the actual documents yet.

I think the 105 is firm. They could hypothetically choose to divide one scholarship among 105, or fully award 105, or anything in between. That would royally mess with Title IX calculations, but that’s not my wheelhouse.

Maybe we’ll get more clarity in coming days. Maybe not.
 

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