The college football landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. As the NCAA continues to grapple with the changes, a new proposal could eliminate one of the most beloved storylines in the sport.
The NCAA is reportedly considering a change to football roster limits that could reduce the number of players on a team from 120 to between 85-95, according to Yahoo Sports. College teams are only allowed a maximum of 85 scholarship players on a roster, which could then jeopardize any room for walk-ons.
There have been plenty of standout football players who have once begun their collegiate playing careers as walk-ons. J.J. Watt went from a walk-on at Wisconsin to a future Hall-of-Fame NFL talent. Baker Mayfield was a walk-on at Texas Tech to a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma and eventual No. 1 pick. Stetson Bennett walked on at hometown Georgia and took the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships.
There are other potential roster changes that could come about as result of this proposal. Here’s what you need to know.
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College football roster limit proposal
The roster changes are part of an overhaul of the NCAA that could eventually see colleges paying more than $20 million to athletes each year, per Yahoo Sports.
Beyond the compensation, there could also be sweeping changes to roster limits across football and other sports. Yahoo Sports notes universities could offer scholarships to all available roster spots rather than the current model, which limits the number of athletic scholarships that can be handed out per sport.
That would also come with a massive shift that could see as many as 35 roster spots removed from football, which would then eliminate walk-on spots, per Yahoo Sports, unless teams chose to not use scholarships for the roster maximum of 85 players on football teams.
Though there are benefits to the proposal, like reducing expenses and providing more Title IX balance, not all the conferences are in favor of the move, per Yahoo. Coaches and athletic directors were reportedly unhappy with the proposal despite it moving rosters closer to FCS and NFL roster sizes, which are 63 partial-scholarship players (85 total roster) at the FCS level and 53 active NFL players with 16 on a practice squad.
As noted by Yahoo, there are different ways the proposal will impact different sports. In head-count sports, which include football and basketball, athletes receive either full scholarships or no scholarships. In other sports (equivalency sports), like baseball and swimming, partial scholarships can be received by athletes.
However, the future of equivalency scholarships could also be in jeopardy as the NCAA continues to navigate the new proposal.
There are still likely to be a number of changes made to college sports before long. Some have been controversial, and others have been wildly popular. Taking away football walk-ons might fall into the former camp.
