Report: Scholarship limits to increase across nearly every sport in 2025-26

College roster construction continues to go through a major transition.

Mar 7, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard reacts to a foul call during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports / Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

The way that Division I universities decide to construct athletic programs was changed forever when transfer portal and NIL rules were introduced in 2021. According to a report from Ross Dellenger and Yahoo Sports, roughly 790 new scholarship spots are expected to be available across the 40-plus NCAA sports listed in 2025-26.

NEW: The NCAA’s historic expansion of scholarships to extend to full rosters means that roughly 790 new scholarship spots are available across the 40-plus NCAA sports listed in the settlement, per a @YahooSports
calculation. https://t.co/MGD0SHm1Y8 pic.twitter.com/dEPrGDDd71

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 26, 2024

According to Dellenger, "college leaders are expanding scholarships to full rosters of each sport, eliminating scholarship restrictions and replacing them with roster size limits. The new scholarship and roster structure — an attempt to prevent future lawsuits — takes effect starting in the 2025-26 academic year and coincides with the settlement’s new model that permits schools to share revenue directly with athletes."

There will notably be 20 more scholarships available for football, which will have a massive impact on how teams attack the transfer portal and high school recruiting going forward.

Men's basketball is expected to have two more scholarships which will equal the 15 that are available in women's basketball. Men's and women's hockey will have 26 scholarships increasing their limit by eight.

Between conference realignment, transfer portal and NIL rule changes, college athletics have seen more change in the last five years than in the history of the NCAA. The increased roster sizes will make a huge impact on how programs attack recruiting in the future.