Roster Limits

For those schools participating in the House settlement, NCAA scholarship limits have been removed, and roster limits have been established for each sport. Under this new model, schools will have the option to offer partial or full scholarships to every student-athlete on a team’s roster, as long as the total number of student-athletes stays within the sport’s specific roster limit, as outlined below.

Removing scholarship limits gives schools the flexibility to better support their student-athletes and their education, while supporting the long-term success of broad-based sports programs. This change provides more opportunities for student-athletes to receive scholarships, including in non-revenue-generating sports.

In order to transition to the new roster limits, schools will “designate” student-athletes who were either removed or would have been removed from the school’s roster due to the implementation of roster limits. Those student-athletes will not count against the roster limits at any school for the remainder of their eligibility. “Designated student-athletes” are those student-athletes who were either 1) on the school’s athletic rosters as of April 7, 2025 for the 2024-25 academic year or 2) an incoming Division 1 athlete who was recruited or promised by a school a roster spot before April 7, 2025 for the 2025-26 academic year. A school’s ability to exceed the roster limit with respect to designated student-athletes remains the discretion of the school. Participating schools were required to report a list of its designated student-athletes by July 6, 2025. Student-athletes can login here to find out if they’ve been deemed a designated student-athlete.

All participating institutions are required to submit their rosters through the CAPS platform and formally certify that each team’s roster complies with all applicable rules. This certification must be completed prior to the start of the competitive season—or by December 1, whichever comes first. The College Sports Commission is tasked with ensuring compliance with roster limit regulations.

For the approved NCAA roster limit rules, click here.

Old Scholarship Limits and New Roster Limits

Sport	Old Scholarship Limit	New Roster Limit	Potential Increase in Scholarships
Acrobatics & Tumbling (W)	14	55	41
Baseball (M)	11.7	34	22.3
Basketball (M)	13	15	2
Basketball (W)	15	15	0
Beach Volleyball (W)	6	19	13
Bowling (W)	5	11	6
Cross Country (M)	5	17	12
Cross Country (W)	6	17	11
Equestrian (W)	15	50	35
Fencing (M)	4.5	24	19.5
Fencing (W)	5	24	19
Field Hockey (W)	12	27	15
Football (M)	85	105	20
Golf (M)	4.5	9	4.5
Golf (W)	6	9	3
Gymnastics (M)	6.3	20	13.7
Gymnastics (W)	12	20	8
Ice Hockey (M)	18	26	8
Ice Hockey (W)	18	26	8
Track & Field (M)	12.6	45	35.4
Track & Field (W)	18	45	27
Lacrosse (M)	12.6	48	35.4
Lacrosse (W)	12	38	26
Rifle (M)	3.6	12	8.4
Rifle (W)	3.6	12	8.4
Rowing (W)	20	68	48
Skiing (M)	6.3	16	9.7
Skiing (W)	7	16	9
Soccer (M)	9.9	28	18.1
Soccer (W)	14	28	14
Softball (W)	12	25	13
Stunt (W)	14	65	51
Swimming & Diving (M)	9.9	30	20.1
Swimming & Diving (W)	14	30	16
Tennis (M)	4.5	10	5.5
Tennis (W)	8	10	2
Triathlon (W)	6.5	14	7.5
Volleyball (M)	4.5	18	13.5
Volleyball (W)	12	18	6
Water Polo (M)	4.5	24	19.5
Water Polo (W)	8	24	16
Wrestling (M)	9.9	30	20.1
Wrestling (W)	10	30	20