This portion of the site will provide current information on major NCAA or NAIA guideline or rule changes. If you have an older edition of my book, be sure to check this page regularly to ensure you have the most current information, and be sure to visit the NCAA Home Page or the NAIA Home Page for all current recruiting guidelines.
Updated July 2025 (excerpt from NCAA.org)
The Division I Board of Directors recently adopted additional changes to NCAA rules to implement the court-approved House settlement. The changes — which codify roster limits — are effective July 1.
"With the court's approval of the House settlement, college sports are entering a new era of increased benefits for college athletes," said Tim Sands, chair of the board and president at Virginia Tech. "Today's vote to codify the roster provisions of the settlement formally removes limits on scholarships for schools that opt in, dramatically increasing the potential available scholarships for student-athletes across all sports in Division I."
(For a more detailed description of how this may affect prospective college softball players, please download this document!)
Updated January 2025
There will be ongoing guidelines changes/news relating both to revenue sharing and its impact on D-I and D-II teams as well as NIL implementation. Be sure to check in April for a final vote on the new revenue sharing guidelines. For now, here's what that may mean for YOU.
If final approval is given in April, this change would go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year. At that time, Div. I softball teams will no longer have a limit on the number of scholarships they can offer. They WILL, however, have a roster limit of 25 (So... technically, a limit of 25 scholarships).
If I understand correctly, (the guidelines are still being developed), Div. II schools can opt into revenue sharing, but the amount a particular D-II Athletic Dept. receives will likely be too small to have a major impact on its scholarship funding. And D-IIs will stay at 7.2 scholarships even if their rosters increase.
What this means for you will depend on the colleges you're considering. At the Div. I level, walk-on players--especially at well-funded programs--could become a thing of the past. An SEC softball team could opt to carry 22 players, all of whom are on 80-100% scholarships. Your chances of getting a walk-on spot at that school could be next to zero.
On the other hand, this change might increase walk-on opportunities at smaller D-I colleges as well as opening up scholarship opportunities at D-II or NAIA programs. You might find that a small D-I not participating in the revenue sharing (or that is, but simply isn't doesn’t have many softball scholarships) would welcome you as a walk-on player. And good Div. II or NAIA teams might consider you a strong scholarship prospect for their programs.
Updated October 2024
In October of 2024, the NCAA approved the elimination of the traditional National Letter of Intent. The NLI had been used to formalize athletic scholarships and commitments by students to individual colleges for 60 years. However, in an effort to expand financial opportunities for student athletes, the NCAA decided to put the signing/commitment process into the hands of the colleges themselves. There will still be a traditional period during which high school athletes can sign their commitment letters, a dead period around the opening day of each sport's signing period, and detailed rules about what a commitment means.
Watch for more information from the NCAA soon, and visit their website or the Eligibility Center website for additional details.
NIL UPDATE
The NCAA's Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) policies continue to evolve. For more information, click here. The NAIA is also working on NIL guidelines. For more information, click here. These policies are likely to change as the legalities are sorted and the practical applications face the test of time. If you have specific concerns/questions about this, please contact the NCAA or the NAIA directly.
***
Now for the important business! Please remember that that 75% of all college players will compete at Div. II/III or NAIA programs. In other words only 25% of players will ultimately be impacted by Div. I guidelines, so this calendar change will have no impact on players being recruited by or pursuing Div. II, III and NAIA colleges!
Updated July 2025 (excerpt from NCAA.org)
The Division I Board of Directors recently adopted additional changes to NCAA rules to implement the court-approved House settlement. The changes — which codify roster limits — are effective July 1.
"With the court's approval of the House settlement, college sports are entering a new era of increased benefits for college athletes," said Tim Sands, chair of the board and president at Virginia Tech. "Today's vote to codify the roster provisions of the settlement formally removes limits on scholarships for schools that opt in, dramatically increasing the potential available scholarships for student-athletes across all sports in Division I."
(For a more detailed description of how this may affect prospective college softball players, please download this document!)
Updated January 2025
There will be ongoing guidelines changes/news relating both to revenue sharing and its impact on D-I and D-II teams as well as NIL implementation. Be sure to check in April for a final vote on the new revenue sharing guidelines. For now, here's what that may mean for YOU.
If final approval is given in April, this change would go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year. At that time, Div. I softball teams will no longer have a limit on the number of scholarships they can offer. They WILL, however, have a roster limit of 25 (So... technically, a limit of 25 scholarships).
If I understand correctly, (the guidelines are still being developed), Div. II schools can opt into revenue sharing, but the amount a particular D-II Athletic Dept. receives will likely be too small to have a major impact on its scholarship funding. And D-IIs will stay at 7.2 scholarships even if their rosters increase.
What this means for you will depend on the colleges you're considering. At the Div. I level, walk-on players--especially at well-funded programs--could become a thing of the past. An SEC softball team could opt to carry 22 players, all of whom are on 80-100% scholarships. Your chances of getting a walk-on spot at that school could be next to zero.
On the other hand, this change might increase walk-on opportunities at smaller D-I colleges as well as opening up scholarship opportunities at D-II or NAIA programs. You might find that a small D-I not participating in the revenue sharing (or that is, but simply isn't doesn’t have many softball scholarships) would welcome you as a walk-on player. And good Div. II or NAIA teams might consider you a strong scholarship prospect for their programs.
Updated October 2024
In October of 2024, the NCAA approved the elimination of the traditional National Letter of Intent. The NLI had been used to formalize athletic scholarships and commitments by students to individual colleges for 60 years. However, in an effort to expand financial opportunities for student athletes, the NCAA decided to put the signing/commitment process into the hands of the colleges themselves. There will still be a traditional period during which high school athletes can sign their commitment letters, a dead period around the opening day of each sport's signing period, and detailed rules about what a commitment means.
Watch for more information from the NCAA soon, and visit their website or the Eligibility Center website for additional details.
NIL UPDATE
The NCAA's Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) policies continue to evolve. For more information, click here. The NAIA is also working on NIL guidelines. For more information, click here. These policies are likely to change as the legalities are sorted and the practical applications face the test of time. If you have specific concerns/questions about this, please contact the NCAA or the NAIA directly.
***
Now for the important business! Please remember that that 75% of all college players will compete at Div. II/III or NAIA programs. In other words only 25% of players will ultimately be impacted by Div. I guidelines, so this calendar change will have no impact on players being recruited by or pursuing Div. II, III and NAIA colleges!
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