Navigating the New Landscape: NCAA Walk-On Rules and Requirements in a Post-Settlement Era

The NCAA has officially approved changes to team roster sizes and scholarship limits that are reshaping college sports. These updates open new doors for some high school graduates to compete at the next level, while narrowing opportunities for others. The House v. NCAA settlement has captured national headlines for its transformative impacts on college athletics. The preliminarily approved settlement is scheduled to revolutionize the NCAA’s structure starting in the 2025-26 season, as colleges will, for the first time, be allowed to compensate their athletes directly. This article delves into the implications of these changes, particularly focusing on walk-on athletes and the evolving landscape of NCAA eligibility.

The House v. NCAA Settlement: A Paradigm Shift

These changes stem from the House v. NCAA settlement. The language in the settlement enables schools to opt into a revenue-sharing agreement, allowing each athletic department to pay their athletes from a pool of $22,000,000 annually for their participation on athletics teams. The public focus of the settlement has largely surrounded the new $22,000,000 expenditure for university athletic departments, the new challenges it will present from a revenue generation perspective, and a new professional front-office style approach college programs will have to take toward player recruitment.

The Division I Board of Directors on Monday adopted additional changes to NCAA rules to implement the court-approved House settlement. "With the court's approval of the House settlement, college sports are entering a new era of increased benefits for college athletes," said Tim Sands, chair of the board and president at Virginia Tech. Moving forward, NCAA rules for Division I programs will no longer include sport-specific scholarship limits. Instead, schools in the defendant conferences and others that opt in to the settlement rules and associated benefits to student-athletes will have roster limits, and schools will have the option to offer scholarships to any and all of those student-athletes. This change will dramatically increase the number of scholarships potentially available to Division I student-athletes, including more than doubling the possible number of scholarships that can be offered to women.

Scholarship Flexibility and Roster Limits

Instead of being limited to offering either a full or no scholarship in head count sports, NCAA member schools now have the flexibility to provide each student-athlete with a full, partial, or no scholarship, depending on their program’s strategy and funding. This flexibility has fundamentally changed recruiting.As a companion piece to the revenue-sharing model, the NCAA has provided another provision that limits roster size for every sports team. Those who opt into revenue sharing are mandated to follow the new roster size rules. The rules changes include legislated exceptions for current student-athletes with remaining eligibility whose roster spots would have been impacted by immediate implementation of the roster limits.

With the move, roughly 790 new scholarships are available across the 40-plus NCAA sports. For example, football’s scholarship cap rose from 85 to a roster limit of 105, possibly adding 20 more scholarships for schools willing to offer the maximum. In the new model, NCAA DI schools that opt into the House Settlement are permitted to offer a scholarship to each player on a sport’s roster up to the new roster limits. Athletic scholarships will still be under Title IX guidance, and schools must allocate equal scholarships to men’s and women’s athletes.

The Diminishing Role of Walk-Ons

However, lost in much of the discourse is a discussion on the implications of the new settlement’s roster limits that could impact a significantly greater quantity of collegiate athletes. The era of the walk-on athlete is likely nearing its end, particularly in high-profile sports like football and basketball. Walk-ons - often the unsung heroes of college athletics - have long filled out these rosters, adding depth and enhancing practice dynamics without expecting much in return. However, with the new roster limits, opportunities for walk-ons will diminish significantly.

Every FBS roster will now be limited to 105 athletes, a 23-spot reduction from the current average, and every one of those spots is entitled to a scholarship. While teams still have flexibility in how many scholarships they allocate, the new structure strongly incentivizes schools to fully fund all roster spots with scholarship athletes, leaving little room for non-scholarship players. This shift effectively reduces the incentive to field walk-ons, as teams will likely prioritize fully funded rosters over maintaining non-scholarship spots. As a result, the traditional pathway for walk-ons is quickly disappearing, putting the very future of the walk-on athlete in jeopardy. This is because, compared to recent NCAA Participation Rates with proposed roster limits, headcount sports like football and basketball that require full scholarships to all scholarship players could still backload their rosters with non-scholarship walk-ons. While college football teams limit their scholarships to 85 athletes, the average roster size of a FBS football team is roughly 128 players. In the new system, scholarship limitations have been removed, and every athlete on the roster can receive up to a full scholarship.

Impact on Non-Revenue Athletes

For non-revenue athletes, partial scholarships are almost always awarded. If a school is to opt into revenue sharing, a 9-player roster limit will be imposed, and the potential scholarship allotment will be increased to meet that number. For schools like Auburn, Texas, and Stanford, they will likely fully fund their golf teams because they play in big conferences, have plenty of money, and use these scholarships as a primary recruiting pitch. For schools in the Atlantic 10, athletics revenue is less abundant, and the cost of 4.5 extra scholarships for the golf team is likely better served elsewhere in the department -- like institutional revenue sharing payments for revenue sports. Big-time schools that opt into the revenue-sharing agreement are more likely to fund non-revenue athlete’s scholarships fully, but smaller schools do not share that outlook. This new system will likely exacerbate the recruiting disadvantages between big and small schools. Small schools used to go after sought-after recruits with attractive scholarship offers and promises of playing time -- with only 4.5 scholarships available at every school, this pitch could work. Now, with 9 scholarships available, likely only fully taken advantage of by Power 5 schools, the deck is even further stacked against mid-majors.

The Ripple Effect Across College Sports

Looking at roster data, it becomes clear that this new landscape will significantly impact the entire framework of college baseball. A reduction of 158 SEC baseball players will be noticed next year. For players on rosters with too much depth at their respective positions, they must find new homes for the upcoming season - an average of 9.875 players will be cut from each SEC roster, unleashing a bevy of premier baseball talent into the transfer portal. To industry experts, this means Big Ten, ACC, and JUCO baseball will be more talented than ever. Roster reductions will push quality players to schools with less talent, creating a domino effect that will send many players in lower conferences out of baseball or further down the pecking order. This phenomenon is not unique to baseball; it will be experienced in football, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.

Understandably, very few people care about mid-major golf. So, how will this change impact the collegiate sports landscape? Let’s look at SEC baseball as a more relevant example. Currently, 15 of the 16 SEC baseball programs have rosters that exceed the new 34-player roster limit. The good news for those remaining on the team in the 2025-26 season is that the athletics department will likely raise their scholarships. Will they fully fund every baseball player’s education? Once again, that depends on each institution’s goals and Title IX math. Schools with as much athletics revenue as those in the SEC will likely spend on increased scholarship payouts; if they don’t, someone else will.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

With so many angles of new NCAA regulations changing recruitment, it is indeterminate if the new system will increase or decrease competitive parity. Many smaller schools are still deciding if they should opt into revenue sharing. Roster limits are a large part of those considerations. Certain institutions may have to cut upwards of fifty athletes across all programs to comply with new roster size restrictions. Opting into the settlement becomes a challenging choice for schools that are not competing at the Power 5 or even the Group of 5 level, knowing that many athletes will no longer have opportunities to compete. These schools will unlikely be able to come up with substantial revenue-sharing funds, and the marginal recruiting advantages of offering rev-share at much below the $22,000,000 cap may not outweigh the negative public perception, and potential athletic fundraising pitfalls, of mass roster reductions.

Academic Eligibility: A Crucial Factor

With larger rosters and more scholarships available, academic eligibility is now in the spotlight because more is at stake. The NCAA requires student-athletes to meet certain academic standards to participate in college sports. Failing to meet these requirements can prevent a student-athlete from competing or even being rostered, regardless of their athletic abilities.

Academics are now the currency that unlocks opportunity. With coaches able to spread their scholarship dollars further, student-athletes with strong grades and academic merit rise to the top. The new NCAA roster and scholarship limits are designed to increase access and opportunities for more student-athletes to pursue their academic and athletic goals. As the NCAA expands opportunities, the importance of academic preparation cannot be overstated.

NCAA eligibility is based on a student-athlete’s academic readiness and amateur status.

Core Course Requirements and GPA

You’ll need to pass 16 approved NCAA Core Courses during your high school years. Exact requirements vary slightly between D1 and D2 schools. Your GPA will be calculated based on your performance in core courses, not your entire high school transcript. 75% of college student-athletes typically meet NCAA academic minimums. Just because you are a good student doesn’t guarantee academic eligibility.

Standardized Tests and Amateur Status

Although the NCAA stopped making the SAT or ACT mandatory in 2020, you may still need to take them because some colleges continue to expect these scores for admission and specific scholarships may request them too. Your amateur status is determined by following NCAA amateurism rules, which are in place to ensure that student-athletes do not receive compensation or benefits that could jeopardize their amateur status. Students who are enrolling at a D1 or D2 school for the first time must obtain a final amateurism certification before becoming eligible to participate in college sports. NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules allow college athletes to earn money from endorsements and promotions while remaining amateurs.

The 10/7 Rule

The 10/7 rule is a specific requirement for NCAA D1 eligibility. It means you must complete 10 of the required 16 core courses before your senior year of high school, or seventh semester. Seven of these 10 courses should be in subjects like English, Math or Natural/Physical Science. Once you enter your senior year, the grades you’ve received in your core courses are “locked in” and cannot be changed. If you’re currently a junior in high school, it’s crucial to keep an eye on your core course count.

Division 3 and Junior College Options

Division 3 schools are responsible for setting their own academic eligibility rules. If you are going to be competing for a D3 institution, or if you are unsure what division level you’ll be competing at, you can start with a free NCAA Profile. Junior colleges simply require that a student-athlete be a high school graduate, earning an approved standard academic diploma. Student-athletes can also be eligible if they’ve completed an approved high school equivalency test, like the GED. Many athletes who aren’t able to meet the NCAA or NAIA eligibility requirements will gain eligibility by competing at a junior college for two years.

NCAA Eligibility Center Review

The NCAA will only review an athlete’s eligibility status if their status has been requested by a D1 or D2 college. This process will begin once you graduate high school and complete the minimum 16 core courses with a minimum GPA average in these courses.

Eligibility Statuses

Early Academic Qualifier: This status is based on your academic record after six semesters of high school. It means you are eligible to receive an athletic scholarship and practice/compete with your team during your first year of full-time college enrollment.
Final Nonqualifier: You do not meet the academic requirements and are not eligible to compete or practice at the college requesting your final status. You will not be eligible to receive an athletic scholarship.
Final Partial Qualifier: This is a status for only D2 schools. Athletes with this status can receive an athletic scholarship and practice with the team, but you are not eligible to compete your first year in college.
Academic Redshirt: This means you will be eligible to receive an athletic scholarship and practice but will not be allowed to compete during your first year in school.
Automatic Waiver Approved: This indicates that you are immediately eligible to receive an athletic scholarship, and practice/compete with your team during your first year as a full-time enrollee. Contact your college’s compliance department for more details.
In Process: The NCAA Eligibility Center is reviewing your case.
Secondary Review: On rare occasions, the NCAA will make a secondary review of your status. This will only happen with the help of your college compliance office.
Waiver Approved: From time to time, your colleges compliance office will file for a waiver if they think you will meet one of the cases for academic waivers. This status means that the waiver has been approved.
Waiver Denied: If your compliance office has filed for a waiver and it is denied, you will receive this status.
Waiver Partially Approved (athletics aid only): If your compliance office has filed for a waiver on your behalf, it might be partially approved. This would mean you are eligible to receive an athletic scholarship but are not eligible to practice or play your first year in college.

Adapting to the New NCAA Landscape

The upcoming changes to NCAA scholarship rules and roster limits are set to take effect in the 2025-26 school year. It is clear that the value of a roster spot for college athletes is changing.

Key Changes Summarized

No Scholarship Cap: NCAA D1 schools will be able to offer scholarships to every athlete on their roster, eliminating previous sport-specific limits.
New Roster Limits: NCAA is introducing new roster limits that match or exceed current scholarship restrictions for each sport.
Scholarship Type: All sports will now be classified as equivalency sports, allowing schools to offer partial scholarships.
Direct payment: Starting in 2025, schools can opt to share a “cap” of up to $20.5 million with their student-athletes, beginning July 1, 2025.

Navigating the Future

To understand how roster limits might affect you, we recommend staying in touch with coaches.

Stay Informed and Ask Questions: Keep an eye on updates from schools and the NCAA regarding the new rules.
Educate Yourself: Learn about the new rules and their implications.
Show Your Value and Focus on Performance: Highlight your skills to coaches, demonstrating your versatility and value.

tags: #NCAA #walk-on #rules #requirements