Division I Council waives initial counter scholarship limits in D-I football for two years

The NCAA Division I Council announced on Wednesday that it is waiving the initial counter scholarship limits for two years.

Previously, teams were limited to 25 initial counters per year from high school prospects and transfers. If a program reached the annual 25 limit, they couldn't sign any more scholarship players.

In October, the council approved a one-year waiver to allow teams to go over the 25 limit by up to seven scholarships to replace players lost to transfer. A program could have gone up to 32 scholarships in a year if it had lost seven players in the transfer portal.

Staying under that 25-scholarship limit while also filling a complete roster of 85 total scholarships has become more difficult for coaches who have been less able to predict the number of players leaving their programs each year. The transfer environment has changed the way programs recruit high school prospects, as schools are continuously bringing in college transfers through the portal, and those players count against the 25 initial counter limit.

Even though a program might still be under the 85 total limit, transfers decreased the number of scholarships available for high school prospects. Over the next two academic years, the waivers will allow programs to fill rosters and use scholarships in ways they deem fit.