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Updated: June 19, 2025 @ 11:34 pm
BlueGoldNews.com
Any discussion of the new era of collegiate sports can quickly lead one down any number of rabbit holes, as overarching topics such as NIL, revenue share and the like branch off into many different paths. We’re trying to break that down into more understandable smaller chunks, and today’s topic is roster limits, and how WVU might approach them.
With the approval of the settlement in the House vs. NCAA case came the institution of roster limits for each collegiate sport. While the agreement also eliminated previous scholarship limits (such as 85 for football and 11.7 for baseball), it also set up a new structure allowing schools to fund as many scholarships as it wants, up to the new roster limit.
Take, for example, baseball. Previously, schools could award a total of 11.7 scholarships to its players, with those capable of being split into halves, thirds or quarters. There were no set roster limits, but most schools had 40-45 players on their rosters each year.
Starting this summer/fall, the new roster limit of 34 will be in place. That will allow schools to award up to 34 scholarships to its baseball players, but it can carry no more than that number of total players on its roster.
That provides one of the biggest challenges for coaches. Most schools aren’t going to fully fund 34 baseball scholarships. Some might add a few, and will thus still depend on walk-ons and other funding mechanisms (such as NIL) to aid their players. Some, which feature baseball, might approach the max. However, schools will have to make do with fewer total players on their roster, however they choose to construct it, because they can have no more than 34 players on their official rosters.
Some schools may bump their scholarship numbers upward in a few sports. None are going to reach the max in every sport, as a quick examination of the new roster limits show. Following is a look at West Virginia’s current scholarships in each sport, and what he new limit will be.
WVU Roster Scholarships
Current Max New Roster Cap
Football 85 105
Men’s Basketball 13 15
Women’s Basketball 15 15
Baseball 11.7 34
Women’s Volleyball 12 18
Women’s Gymnastics 12 20
Rifle 3.6 12
Wrestling 9.9 30
Men’s Soccer 9.9 28
Women’s Soccer 14 28
Women’s Rowing 20 68
Women’s CC 6 17
Women’s Track 18 45
Men’s Golf 4.5 9
Men’s Swimming 9.9 30
Women’s Swimming 14 30
Women’s Tennis 8 10
Total Scholarships 266.5 514
Were West Virginia to fund all of the new scholarships allowed, up to the maximum, it would be on the hook for 247.5 additional scholarships. The cost for that, along with Alston awards from a couple of years ago and the pending $20.5 million revenue share payments per year (that amount will increase each year, by the way) would not just break, but shatter, the budget of WVU.
Thus, it’s expected that WVU, like many schools, will not add more scholarships to the total it offers. It will fully fund the revenue share payments ($20.5 million) which will be split primarily between football and both basketball program athletes, with a smallish percentage (5-10%) going to the rest of the athletes. It will also work to get money to athletes, either directly or indirectly, through different avenues such as Country Roads Trust and Gold & Blue Enterprises. Details on those plans, as well as WVU’s exact distribution breakdowns of the revenue share, are still to be announced.
Finally, this does not signal, as some have portended, the end of walk-ons. Unless many more schools fully fund all of their scholarships (an unlikely occurrence) there are going to be spots for those who initially join teams as walk-ons. That’s where NIL and other compensation sources come into play, and those schools which can help their Olympic sports and end roster spots via those avenues will have advantages.
Caveats
As always, there are a couple of caveats. Roster limits for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year won’ be 100% enforced, as allowances will be made for players who choose to remain at a school but might have otherwise been cut if the new roster limits were strictly enforced. WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez was particular However, after a year or two, most of these limits will be hard and fast.
Also, scholarships in any sport can now be split among two or more players. Previously, that was not allowed in football, basketball, and hockey, among others. Thus, it might not be a surprise to see, for example, 20 football players share 10 scholarships, with each receiving a half.
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