−5.3%
change in roster size at Power 4 schools in the first season of roster limits, from 24,792 to 23,482 players on the same 826 teams. Other D1 programs changed −2.3%.
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Major directoryYour major and your sport in one list Camp directoryID camps and showcases at college programs Conference directoryEvery conference and its member collegesWe compared the rosters of 12,536 college programs from the last season before Division I roster limits with the first two seasons under them. The results show which sports were cut, where the freshman spots went, and how far posted rosters still sit above the new limits.
Published October 2026 · Roster data from official athletics websites · Free to cite with a link
The short version. Every figure is calculated from college rosters and explained in full further down the page.
change in roster size at Power 4 schools in the first season of roster limits, from 24,792 to 23,482 players on the same 826 teams. Other D1 programs changed −2.3%.
change in freshmen on Power 4 football rosters over two seasons, from 46.0 per team in 2024-25 to 30.5 in 2026-27. At D3 the figure rose from 41.2 to 42.3.
change in Power 4 men's swimming rosters, the largest cut of any sport. Women's swimming fell 13.9%. Both carried far more than the new limit of 30 before it arrived.
of Power 4 football programs still post a roster above the 105 limit, down from 95%. Designated athletes, who were on a roster before the limits, do not count toward it.
change in D2 roster size in the same season. D3 changed −0.9% and the NAIA −0.4%. Below D1, where there are no new limits, roster spots held steady.
Roster limits took effect on July 1, 2025 for Division I schools that joined the House settlement, which includes every Power 4 school. Their rosters shrank 5.3% in one season. Other D1 programs, a mix of schools in and out of the settlement, shrank 2.3%. D2, D3 and the NAIA have no new limits, and their rosters stayed about the same size.
Average roster is the mean number of players listed on each team's official roster. Freshmen is the change in players listed as freshmen, including redshirt freshmen. Teams smaller is the share of teams that listed fewer players in 2025-26 than in 2024-25. Track and field and cross country are left out (see methodology).
For fall and winter sports, the 2026-27 rosters are already posted. Power 4 rosters in those sports are still 6.0% smaller than in 2024-25. There was no rebound in the second season.
Same 431 Power 4 teams, 1,788 other D1 teams, 1,465 D2, 1,847 D3 and 488 NAIA teams in all three seasons. Spring sports are left out because many 2026-27 spring rosters are not posted yet.
Men's rosters lost about twice the share women's rosters did. Football, swimming, tennis and wrestling drove most of the men's cuts.
The sports that shrank most at Power 4 schools are the ones whose rosters ran well above the new limit. Softball and women's golf went the other way. Their old rosters were below the limit, so programs had room to add players.
Average players on each Power 4 roster, for the same teams in both seasons. Limit is the Division I roster limit for schools in the House settlement. Other D1 and D3 show the change in average roster size at those levels for comparison. Sports with at least 8 Power 4 teams in the data.
A team's roster limit is not the same as the roster on its website. Designated student-athletes, the players who were on a roster or promised a spot before the limits and would otherwise have been cut, do not count toward it, and that exemption follows them for the rest of their eligibility. So many Power 4 programs still post more players than the limit, but far fewer than before.
A posted roster of 112 in football does not mean the program can add 112 players next year.
As designated athletes graduate, every Power 4 roster has to come down to the limit. In sports where programs still sit above it, such as baseball and football, the squeeze on new roster spots is not over. Ask each coach how many players the program will carry against the limit next season.
Roster limits by sportFootball is where the limit bites hardest on walk-ons. Power 4 programs listed 46.0 freshmen per team in 2024-25 and 30.5 in 2026-27. Across all Power 4 sports, freshmen fell 6.3% in the first season, while D2, D3 and the NAIA added freshmen.
Freshmen include redshirt freshmen as listed on the roster. Fewer freshmen at the top level means fewer spots for walk-ons and late signees, the players most often squeezed out by a fixed limit.
Four rules that come straight out of the data.
Power 4 football rosters carry 30.5 freshmen per team, down from 46.0 two seasons ago. If your path to a Power 4 roster is as a walk-on, line up options at other levels too.
Power 4 swimming rosters shrank by about a sixth while softball and women's golf grew. How much room there is depends on how far your sport's rosters ran above the limit.
Roster sizes below D1 did not change, and D2, D3 and NAIA teams added freshmen in the first season of limits. Those spots did not go away.
Designated athletes do not count toward the limit, so a big posted roster can hide how few spots are really open. Count the seniors at your position and ask the coach about next year's number.
See where roster spots are opening this year, and how many of them go to transfers in your sport.
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Pathley. College Roster Size Study: The First Seasons of Roster Limits. Published October 2026. https://www.pathley.ai/college-roster-size-study
Journalists, coaches and counselors are welcome to use any figure on this page with a link back to this study. For a cut of the data by sport, conference or program, email contact@pathley.ai.
At Power 4 schools, rosters shrank 5.3% in the first season of roster limits, from 24,792 to 23,482 players on the same 826 teams. Other Division I programs shrank 2.3%. D2, D3 and NAIA rosters stayed about the same size.
Swimming. Power 4 men's swimming rosters fell 16.0% and women's swimming 13.9%. Men's tennis, women's soccer, men's golf, men's wrestling and football followed. Softball and women's golf rosters grew, because their old rosters were below the new limit.
Designated student-athletes do not count toward the limit. They are players who were on a roster or were promised a spot before the limits and would otherwise have been cut, and the exemption lasts for the rest of their eligibility. Posted rosters can also include players a school does not count, so a posted roster is not the official count.
At the top level, yes. Power 4 football programs listed 46.0 freshmen per team in 2024-25 and 30.5 in 2026-27. Across all Power 4 sports, freshmen fell 6.3% in the first season, while D2, D3 and NAIA teams added freshmen.
From rosters published on each program's official athletics website for the 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, collected by Pathley. Each team is compared with itself across seasons.
Updated October 2026 with 2026-27 rosters. Pathley refreshes college rosters every year.