KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow institutions to sign a larger number of recruits for the next two years.
Previously, programs were limited to 25 players on a scholarship per year between high school recruits and transfers. While the yearly cap was removed, teams are still limited to 85 scholarship players.
This change is significant in regards to programs affected by the transfer portal and rosters that saw multiple players keep their extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Football Oversight Committee recommended the move in April, saying there was an increased number of football student-athletes in the NCAA Transfer Portal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the recommendation, the FOC said they would collect and review data about recruiting practices and the number of counters on the rosters. They will also monitor NCAA Transfer Portal trends, according to the April release.
While the NCAA did not formally announce the changes as of 4:35 p.m. on Wednesday, officials posted about the changes on social media before their meeting ended.
