This makes it sound like one of the many NIL court decisions might have at least one good outcome with the NCAA conceding that 11.7 was always stupid. This would be a bigger help for college baseball in our state than expecting the politicians to not screw the pooch with a lottery. Somehow most of that would never get to help college athletes. This would flatten the playing field for scholarships for schools that want to compete at the highest level. NIL is another story though.
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Further, according to a report from Yahoo Sports, the settlement would include a plan to implement roster limits for all sports and the expansion of scholarships to those limits. So, in baseball, there would no longer be a limit of 11.7 scholarships per team. Every team would have as many scholarships as there are roster positions. Today, baseball teams are allowed to have 32 players receiving scholarship money and 40 players total on the roster. A roster size of 32 feels more likely in this potential new reality, but it would undoubtably be subject to major debate before it was set. The new rules would not go into effect for more than a year, according to the report.
For baseball, the change in scholarship limits would be massively impactful. Since 1991, when the NCAA cut scholarships for every sport across the board, baseball has operated with 11.7 scholarships. Increasing the number of scholarships has long been the sport’s white whale. Now, it appears within reach.
While the House lawsuit is about revenue sharing, the writing has been on the wall for scholarship limits since the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Alston v. NCAA. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurring opinion in that case, in which he attacked the existing NCAA model. Among the flaws he outlined was the equivalency sport model—the NCAA’s term for partial-scholarship sports—and he strongly suggested it would not stand up to a challenge in court, using similar arguments that led to the Alston decision. Kavanaugh’s opinion was not the court’s official decision but given that the justices rendered a unanimous decision in the Alston case, defending the equivalency sports model seemed like a losing proposition for the NCAA.
The settlement of the House lawsuit still has several hurdles to clear, and nothing is close to being finalized. But if the case does get settled, which is the expectation, and that settlement includes the plan to end equivalency sports, college baseball will be forever changed.
Schools would not be required to offer whatever the new scholarship limit would be, just as some schools today do not offer the full 11.7 scholarships for baseball. But the major powers would have potentially nearly tripled the number of scholarships they could offer. That would likely lead to a further concentration of power in the sport and make competition in those leagues even fiercer. That would probably lead to a push to separate baseball into subdivisions, like football. The downstream effects would be massive.
But it would also mean that hundreds, if not thousands, of college baseball players would receive full scholarships instead of graduating with a mountain of student loan debt. It would also be significant for the growth of the sport. Today, baseball is at a disadvantage with multi-sport athletes, who must choose between a full scholarship in basketball or football or a partial scholarship in baseball.
Reports: NCAA Considering Lifting Scholarship Limit As Part Of Lawsuit Settlement Talks — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America
Increasing the number of scholarships has long been college baseball's white whale. Now, it appears within reach.
www.baseballamerica.com
Further, according to a report from Yahoo Sports, the settlement would include a plan to implement roster limits for all sports and the expansion of scholarships to those limits. So, in baseball, there would no longer be a limit of 11.7 scholarships per team. Every team would have as many scholarships as there are roster positions. Today, baseball teams are allowed to have 32 players receiving scholarship money and 40 players total on the roster. A roster size of 32 feels more likely in this potential new reality, but it would undoubtably be subject to major debate before it was set. The new rules would not go into effect for more than a year, according to the report.
For baseball, the change in scholarship limits would be massively impactful. Since 1991, when the NCAA cut scholarships for every sport across the board, baseball has operated with 11.7 scholarships. Increasing the number of scholarships has long been the sport’s white whale. Now, it appears within reach.
While the House lawsuit is about revenue sharing, the writing has been on the wall for scholarship limits since the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Alston v. NCAA. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurring opinion in that case, in which he attacked the existing NCAA model. Among the flaws he outlined was the equivalency sport model—the NCAA’s term for partial-scholarship sports—and he strongly suggested it would not stand up to a challenge in court, using similar arguments that led to the Alston decision. Kavanaugh’s opinion was not the court’s official decision but given that the justices rendered a unanimous decision in the Alston case, defending the equivalency sports model seemed like a losing proposition for the NCAA.
The settlement of the House lawsuit still has several hurdles to clear, and nothing is close to being finalized. But if the case does get settled, which is the expectation, and that settlement includes the plan to end equivalency sports, college baseball will be forever changed.
Schools would not be required to offer whatever the new scholarship limit would be, just as some schools today do not offer the full 11.7 scholarships for baseball. But the major powers would have potentially nearly tripled the number of scholarships they could offer. That would likely lead to a further concentration of power in the sport and make competition in those leagues even fiercer. That would probably lead to a push to separate baseball into subdivisions, like football. The downstream effects would be massive.
But it would also mean that hundreds, if not thousands, of college baseball players would receive full scholarships instead of graduating with a mountain of student loan debt. It would also be significant for the growth of the sport. Today, baseball is at a disadvantage with multi-sport athletes, who must choose between a full scholarship in basketball or football or a partial scholarship in baseball.
