NCAA new roster limits: Commissioners finalize new agreement with provision to offer scholarships to full rosters

A new set of scholarship limits is set to be introduced into the NCAA, marking a new era in terms of roster size as the sport gets more lucrative. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the power conference commissioners finalized new roster limits on Tuesday.

This development opens the door for athletic departments to allocate millions of dollars in new scholarships to several sports, particularly benefiting athletes in football, baseball and softball. It also creates educational opportunities for more high school athletes across the country.

Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, a new revenue-sharing model will eliminate by-sport scholarship restrictions, allowing schools to offer scholarships to their entire rosters. However, the new roster limits won't be finalized until the House settlement terms are approved.

What are the new roster sizes for major sports in the NCAA?

While the new NCAA scholarship agreements are still been finalized for subsequent approvals, Ross Dellenger reported what the roster sizes are expected to look like when the agreement takes effect.

For football, the current scholarship limit of 85 will increase to a roster limit of 105, allowing for 20 additional scholarships for schools willing to offer the maximum. Dellenger noted that the 105-player limit might not be enforced until the beginning of the competitive season.

Furthermore, men's and women’s basketball is set to see its scholarship limits rise to 15. Baseball, which is currently limited to 11.7 scholarships, will have a roster of 34. Softball and volleyball, each with 12 scholarship spots, will see increases to 25 and 18, respectively.

Overall, over 60 additional scholarships will be available for distribution across these five sports. As is currently the case, schools are not mandated to provide scholarships to every player. This gives the chance to have walk-on athletes who can go on to make a great impression.

According to Dellenger, the agreement by the conference commissioner is expected to be filed on Friday. The specifics regarding roster sizes for other sports, many of which will experience increases in scholarship slots, will be outlined in the document.

No sport within the NCAA will see a reduction in scholarship spots, Dellenger reported. As part of the agreement, roster limits must be set at or above the current scholarship restrictions for each sport.

Another significant change to the NCAA scholarship structure is that all sports will be classified as "equivalency sports," allowing partial scholarships to be distributed. A couple of sports, such as football and basketball, currently require offering athletes full scholarships.