How many D1 basketball scholarships are available?

The old scholarship cap is gone

Before July 2025, the NCAA set a maximum number of scholarships each sport could award. Men's basketball had its own cap, women's basketball had its own cap, and so on. That system has ended for schools that opt in to the House settlement. The NCAA's June 2025 announcement stated that "NCAA rules for Division I programs will no longer include sport-specific scholarship limits."

What replaced it

Opt-in schools now work under roster limits rather than scholarship limits. A school may offer a scholarship to every athlete on its declared roster — all the way up to that roster limit. The NCAA described this as schools having "the option to offer scholarships to any and all of those student-athletes."

The exact roster limit for men's and women's basketball is not stated in our sources. The NCAA has not published that figure here.

Which schools does this apply to?

The new rules cover schools in the defendant conferences and any others that choose to opt in. Schools had a deadline of June 30 to indicate whether they intended to opt in for the 2025-26 academic year. Schools that do not opt in are not covered by this page — the sources do not describe what rules apply to them.

Your child's scholarship cannot be taken away mid-roster

If a school loses a roster spot — for roster management, performance, or injury reasons — the school cannot pull your child's scholarship. The NCAA's rule states that "that student-athlete's scholarship cannot be revoked unless and until the student chooses to transfer."

The scholarship agreement itself is signed by your child, not the NCAA. The NCAA notes that "scholarships are awarded by coaches, not the NCAA" — the coach decides who gets one, the amount, and whether it is renewed each year.

What we do not know from these sources

The sources do not publish the specific roster limit number for men's or women's basketball. They do not say how many schools have opted in. They do not say what rules govern schools that did not opt in by the June 30 deadline. If any of these questions matter for your child's recruitment, you will need to ask each program directly.