The Impact of the Proposed NCAA Changes on Division 1 Field Hockey

As a part of a large lawsuit against the NCAA, new changes are being proposed left and right. The two most concerning proposals are: Roster Caps & 5 Years of Eligibility.

As a part of a large lawsuit against the NCAA, new changes are being proposed left and right. The two most concerning proposals are: Roster Caps & 5 Years of Eligibility.

Roster Caps

The NCAA is wording the roster caps as an elimination of scholarship limits. This rule change does do this, at the moment schools are allowed to give the equivalent of 12 full rides and now they are allowed to give 27 full rides with a maximum of 27 players on the roster.

Being that field hockey is a non-revenue sport, one should be skeptical that we will see much if any increase in the actual scholarship money awarded to our athletes. This money will more than likely be spent on revenue sports and more popular sports such as Women’s Basketball.

Even if we do not benefit from the allowance of more scholarship money, D1 teams will be subject to the roster cap of 27 players. As of right now, this will not apply to Ivy League programs as they are not joining the settlement.

So how will this impact our teams?