Men's Basketball Scholarships Increases to 15 in 2025-26

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

https://x.com/RossDellenger/status/1816153497512861993

Full article:

https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-ncaa-to-increase-scholarships-for-sports-with-football-getting-roster-limit-of-105-players-164300598.html

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Practically, this means that Shaka has four additional spots to fill for next year. However, as the article states, all sports will now equivalency sports and not headcount. Therefore those 15 scholarships could be spread out over more than 15 student athletes.

[Uncle Rico]

https://x.com/RossDellenger/status/1816153497512861993

Full article:

https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-ncaa-to-increase-scholarships-for-sports-with-football-getting-roster-limit-of-105-players-164300598.html

No excuse not to get an aircraft carrier

[ATL MU Warrior]

I guess the transfer portal isn't big enough yet.

[wadesworld]

So Stevens, Ward, Lewis, Allen come on down?

[Milkshakes]

This should help Shaka's approach of letting big guys mature and develop with a redshirt year. 

[barfolomew]

Never let it be said that the power conferences let pass an opportunity to un-even the playing field.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Never let it be said that the power conferences let pass an opportunity to un-even the playing field.

*Further* un-even. It's never been even.

And if it causes a bunch of schools to leave D1, that's fine with me. But it won't.

[Shooter McGavin]

They going with three 20 minute periods like hockey to get everyone playing time? 

[StillAWarrior]

However, as the article states, all sports will now equivalency sports and not headcount. Therefore those 15 scholarships could be spread out over more than 15 student athletes.

Will that be possible? If it's tied to the roster limit -- which is what I understood the article to be saying -- will they be able to spread money out to a number of kids that exceeds the roster limit?

[Billy Hoyle]

Will that be possible? If it's tied to the roster limit -- which is what I understood the article to be saying -- will they be able to spread money out to a number of kids that exceeds the roster limit?

it means only 15 players can be on the roster. But, all can be getting some amount of athletic aid. However, if the scholarships are going to be treated the same as equivalency scholarships are currently treated you could essentially have everyone on a full scholarship by stacking with academic and need-based aid.

The key point from the article:  Power conference commissioners have finalized roster limits for Football (105), Men's and Women's Basketball (15), Baseball (34), Softball (25) and Volleyball (18) starting in 2025-26, pending approval of the House settlement

[tower912]

Not a fan.

[We R Final Four]

Me neither. Doesn't seem that will matter much.

[lawdog77]

it means only 15 players can be on the roster. But, all can be getting some amount of athletic aid. However, if the scholarships are going to be treated the same as equivalency scholarships are currently treated you could essentially have everyone on a full scholarship by stacking with academic and need-based aid.

The key point from the article:  Power conference commissioners have finalized roster limits for Football (105), Men's and Women's Basketball (15), Baseball (34), Softball (25) and Volleyball (18) starting in 2025-26, pending approval of the House settlement

Too lazy to look, so does the 15 person roster include "walk-ons", family memberts, etc?

[StillAWarrior]

it means only 15 players can be on the roster. But, all can be getting some amount of athletic aid. However, if the scholarships are going to be treated the same as equivalency scholarships are currently treated you could essentially have everyone on a full scholarship by stacking with academic and need-based aid.

The key point from the article:  Power conference commissioners have finalized roster limits for Football (105), Men's and Women's Basketball (15), Baseball (34), Softball (25) and Volleyball (18) starting in 2025-26, pending approval of the House settlement

I was expecting you in this thread, Billy. I noticed that in the article they repeated persistent mistaken belief that headcount sports "require players on scholarship to receive a full grant."

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

nm

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Too lazy to look, so does the 15 person roster include "walk-ons", family memberts, etc?

Yes it looks like it as I understand it.

[Billy Hoyle]

I was expecting you in this thread, Billy. I noticed that in the article they repeated persistent mistaken belief that headcount sports "require players on scholarship to receive a full grant."

yep, you nailed it. All a headcount sport means is a player COUNTS as a full scholarship, not receives. For example, if MU's COA is $70k and MU awards a $30K academic scholarship to an incoming volleyball player then the rest of it ($40k) is made up from the athletic budget but still counts as 1 scholarship.

A school that only budgets 9 scholarships for VB ($630,000 using the example above) could have 12 individuals on the roster getting athletic money through the savings of institutional aid (if every scholarship student-athlete got $30k in MU aid that leaves an additional $270,000 to distribute to three other individuals up to the limit of 12). It's beneficial for underfunded sports to stack institutional and athletic aid to stretch their budgets but the number of individuals who can receive scholarships is still capped.

I have the feeling this is how it will work now if I'm reading the article accurately. Twh other key comments in the article include: "As part of the agreement, roster limits must be set at or more than current scholarship restriction for each sport," and, using the new 105 limit for football as an example, "an important note for football, the 105 may not be a requirement until the start of the competitive season, giving coaches flexibility to go beyond that figure during preseason camp, for instance."

[Jay Bee]

14 & 15 should be high-GPA guys

[WhiteTrash]

And at the same time Calipari intends to only have 9 players.

Not sure about only 9, but 15 feels unruly.

[jfp61]

Lowkey means nothing..

This is good news for good bench guys.

[muwarrior69]

it means only 15 players can be on the roster. But, all can be getting some amount of athletic aid. However, if the scholarships are going to be treated the same as equivalency scholarships are currently treated you could essentially have everyone on a full scholarship by stacking with academic and need-based aid.

The key point from the article:  Power conference commissioners have finalized roster limits for Football (105), Men's and Women's Basketball (15), Baseball (34), Softball (25) and Volleyball (18) starting in 2025-26, pending approval of the House settlement

INDIANAPOLIS — Dozens more scholarship spots are coming to NCAA sports.
During a meeting Tuesday, power conference commissioners finalized new roster-size limits that pave the way for athletic departments to distribute millions of dollars in new scholarships to athletes in, most notably, football, baseball and softball. Conference officials with knowledge of the figures spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.
As part of the new revenue-sharing model — beginning in 2025-26 academic year — by-sport scholarship restrictions are eliminated, and schools are permitted to offer scholarships to the entirety of their rosters. The new roster limit figures are not final until the approval of House settlement terms.
Football, with a current scholarship restriction of 85, will now have a roster limit of 105 — a 20-scholarship increase for those schools willing to give the maximum. In an important note for football, the 105 may not be a requirement until the start of the competitive season, giving coaches flexibility to go beyond that figure during preseason camp, for instance.
Baseball, with a current scholarship restriction of 11.7, is expected to have a roster of 34. Scholarship spots for softball and volleyball, each currently at 12, will increase to 25 and 18, respectively.
In all, more than 60 additional scholarships are available for distribution in those five sports. As they do now, schools are not required to distribute scholarships to each player. For instance, many schools are unlikely to use a full 34 scholarships for baseball, choosing instead to offer grants to only a portion of its roster and leave walk-on opportunities.
The new roster figures are expected to be included in the long-form agreement in the landmark settlement of three antitrust cases, including the House v. NCAA lawsuit. The agreement is expected to be filed Friday with details on the distribution of the $2.77 billion in back pay to former athletes as well as particulars of the new revenue-sharing model permitting schools to distribute upwards of $20-plus million annually.

The details around roster sizes of other sports — many of which will see increases in scholarship slots — are expected in the document. No sport will see a reduction in scholarship spots, according to plaintiff attorneys. As part of the agreement, roster limits must be set at or more than current scholarship restriction for each sport.
Another key change to the scholarship structure: All sports will be considered "equivalency sports," meaning partial scholarships can be distributed to players. Football, basketball and other sports are currently considered "head-count sports," which require players on scholarship to receive a full grant.
On Tuesday at Big Ten media days, commissioner Tony Petitti said the settlement's expansion of scholarships gives schools "all kinds of opportunities," which possibly includes additional women's scholarships to balance out Title IX in a revenue-sharing model.
Many schools are preparing to increase scholarships significantly and can count as much as $2.5 million of additional scholarships toward the annual revenue sharing cap, expected to begin at or around $21.5 million. According to several power conference administrators who spoke to Yahoo Sports, programs are expecting to spend $3 million-7 million in additional scholarships each year.
For the most elite power programs, the total cost of both the scholarship additions and the sharing of revenue with athletes will exceed $30 million a year — a figure reported in a story on Yahoo in May. The annual revenue-sharing cap is expected to steadily increase to as much as $25 million in the next three years. The cap, based on an average of power school revenue streams, fluctuates as revenues increase.
To maintain compliance with the federal Title IX law, any scholarship increases in a men's sport will likely need to be replicated in a women's sport, driving up the additional costs. But not all programs can afford to add so many additional scholarships. Some administrators are in the process of "tiering" their sports by decreasing investment on certain programs and increasing investment in others. This includes staff and salary cuts as well as the reduction in scholarships from Olympic sports, especially those that generate little to no revenue.

Where in the article does it say Basketball is going up to 15? I saw it in the tweet, but not the article.

[Billy Hoyle]

Where in the article does it say Basketball is going up to 15? I saw it in the tweet, but not the article.

It's in the article from The Athletic:

The numbers in basketball are staying similar: Men's and women's teams will have a roster limit of 15. The current scholarship limit is 13.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5656304/2024/07/24/ncaa-scholarships-limits/

My guess is they weren't mentioned because it's not a significant change like the others. The article you quoted frequently switches between roster size and scholarship limits too. Media is trying to break a story before having all of the details:

Football, with a current scholarship restriction of 85, will now have a roster limit of 105 — a 20-scholarship increase for those schools willing to give the maximum. In an important note for football, the 105 may not be a requirement until the start of the competitive season, giving coaches flexibility to go beyond that figure during preseason camp, for instance.
Baseball, with a current scholarship restriction of 11.7, is expected to have a roster of 34.

[bilsu]

"The numbers in basketball are staying similar: Men's and women's teams will have a roster limit of 15. The current scholarship limit is 13."

This wording confuses me. Before this change teams could have 13 scholarship players and as far as I know there was no limit on the number of walk-ons. This wording seams to limit the number of players on a team to 15.

This actually makes sense, because teams could potentially not give a scholarship to a player being paid significant $'s in NIL, thus allowing them to use the scholarship on another player.

[WhiteTrash]

"The numbers in basketball are staying similar: Men's and women's teams will have a roster limit of 15. The current scholarship limit is 13."

This wording confuses me. Before this change teams could have 13 scholarship players and as far as I know there was no limit on the number of walk-ons. This wording seams to limit the number of players on a team to 15.

This actually makes sense, because teams could potentially not give a scholarship to a player being paid significant $'s in NIL, thus allowing them to use the scholarship on another player.

Good points.