How many athletes a college program can carry, and how much athletic aid it can give, at every level — taken from the NCAA and NAIA rulebooks. Since 2025, D1 schools that opted into the House settlement recruit to a roster limit instead of a scholarship limit; D1 schools that did not, D2 and the NAIA still work from a scholarship budget.
Verified September 2026. These are the most a program may give, not what it does give — many programs are not fully funded. Sources are listed below.
| Sport | D1 roster limit opted in · no scholarship cap | D1 scholarships not opted in | D2 scholarships | D3 | NAIA scholarships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏈Football → | 105 | 85 / 631 | 36 | None | 24 |
| 🏀Men’s Basketball → | 15 | 132 | 10 | None | 8 |
| 🏀Women’s Basketball → | 15 | 152 | 10 | None | 8 |
| ⚾Baseball → | 34 | 11.7 | 9 | None | 12 |
| 🥎Softball → | 25 | 12 | 7.2 | None | 10 |
| ⚽Men’s Soccer → | 28 | 9.9 | 9 | None | 12 |
| ⚽Women’s Soccer → | 28 | 14 | 9.9 | None | 12 |
| 🏐Men’s Volleyball → | 18 | 4.5 | 4.5 | None | 8 |
| 🏐Women’s Volleyball → | 18 | 122 | 8 | None | 8 |
| 🎾Men’s Tennis → | 10 | 4.5 | 4.5 | None | 5 |
| 🎾Women’s Tennis → | 10 | 82 | 6 | None | 5 |
| 🏌️Men’s Golf → | 9 | 4.5 | 3.6 | None | 5 |
| 🏌️Women’s Golf → | 9 | 6 | 5.4 | None | 5 |
| 🏊Men’s Swimming & Diving → | 30 | 9.9 | 8.1 | None | 8 |
| 🏊Women’s Swimming & Diving → | 30 | 14 | 8.1 | None | 8 |
| 🏃Men’s Track & Field → | 45 | 12.63 | 12.63 | None | 12 |
| 🏃Women’s Track & Field → | 45 | 183 | 12.63 | None | 12 |
| 🏅Men’s Cross Country → | 17 | 12.63 | 12.63 | None | 5 |
| 🏅Women’s Cross Country → | 17 | 183 | 12.63 | None | 5 |
| 🥍Men’s Lacrosse → | 48 | 12.6 | 10.8 | None | 12 |
| 🥍Women’s Lacrosse → | 38 | 12 | 9.9 | None | 12 |
| 🤼Men’s Wrestling → | 30 | 9.9 | 9 | None | 10 |
| 🤼Women’s Wrestling → | 30 | 10 | 10 | None | 10 |
| 🏒Men’s Ice Hockey → | 26 | 18 | 13.5 | None | —4 |
| 🏒Women’s Ice Hockey → | 26 | 18 | 18 | None | —4 |
| 🏑Field Hockey → | 27 | 12 | 6.3 | None | —4 |
| 🏖️Beach Volleyball → | 19 | 65 | 5 | None | 5 |
| 🏈Flag Football → | — | —6 | —6 | None | —4 |
The most athletes a D1 program that opted into the settlement may carry. Any of them can receive athletic aid, but not every program funds every spot.
A budget of full scholarships, not a number of players. Programs can split it into partial awards, so in most equivalency sports athletes receive partial aid.
D3 gives no athletic aid. At every level, academic and need-based aid can stack with or replace athletic money — ask each school’s financial aid office.
From 2025-26, D1 schools that opted into the settlement have no sport-by-sport scholarship limit. Instead each sport has a roster limit — 105 in football, 15 in basketball, 34 in baseball — and the school may put athletic aid on any player on that roster, up to a full scholarship. Many programs still split their money into partial awards.
They can give athletic aid up to the team limit in the 2024-25 NCAA Division I Manual. Going over it makes the school subject to the settlement, roster limits included. The old head-count rules (for example, 13 full scholarships in men’s basketball) no longer apply, so that total can now be split.
In an equivalency sport the limit is a budget of full scholarships, not a number of players. A soccer program with 9.9 can divide it across 25 or more players, so most athletes receive partial aid — often combined with academic or need-based aid.
No. Division III schools give no athletic aid. D3 athletes receive academic and need-based aid on the same terms as other students, which at many schools is substantial.
The NJCAA publishes its scholarship limits in a members-only handbook, so we have no public source to verify them against. NJCAA Division I and II programs do offer athletic aid — ask each coach what they have available.
Rules change. Confirm current figures with each program or a compliance office before relying on them.
Search programs at every level, see your Division Fit, and email the coaches who can offer you.
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