Much of the talk around the House vs. NCAA settlement has been about roster limits. But, it’s not totally clear when the limits will take hold.
Since the settlement was preliminarily approved last fall, the assumption is that the roster limit for football would be 105 players. That would mean 105 fully funded scholarships and no walk-ons. That’s been a burning debate among college football coaches.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken — who has heard the settlement case from its beginnings — threw the case into question and it was over those roster limits. She’s not necessarily opposed to the limits. But she wants current student-athletes grandfathered into the settlement so their athletic careers aren’t damaged by the cuts that many athletic programs will have to make when it comes to head count.
As of this writing, the NCAA and the commissioners of the power conferences, along with their attorneys, are trying to craft new language that they hope will satisfy Wilken and allow the House settlement’s journey to reach a conclusion. But, until then, there is still some gray for football coaches — and frankly all coaches — to deal with.
Some football programs are approaching the new era — and the speed bump in the settlement — with some flexibility.
Ohio State, one of the largest athletic programs in the country, would seem to have no issue with handling the roster limits or the $20.5 million in proposed revenue sharing with student-athletes. But, coach Ryan Day recently said that the Buckeyes won’t necessarily operate at the top of the roster limits when they’re implemented.
“We're looking at increasing it to 90 (scholarship players),” Day told reporters, including Eleven Warriors. “That's what the conversations have been.”
Why not operate at 105? Day said the program wants to be able to pivot quickly, depending on the settlement. If the settlement is implemented with the roster limits and no grandfathering of current student-athletes — which at this point is unlikely — then the Buckeyes can bring in transfers to fill out the full roster or move some of their walk-ons to scholarships to get to 105.
If the settlement goes into effect with the grandfathered roster spots, Day said the program could operate at its normal level, which is about 120 players, for at least the first year of the settlement.
Clearly, the Buckeyes are trying to plan for every permutation as they build a team to try and defend their national championship.
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Matthew Postins covers baseball for several SI/Fan Nation sites. He also covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and Rodeo for Rodeodaily.com.
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