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Aug. 1—One item from last week’s historic House v. NCAA settlement agreement has drawn more attention from coaches and administrators than perhaps any other: Starting in 2025, FBS programs can fund up to 105 full scholarships — 20 more than the previous limit of 85.
“It actually has been top of mind,” UNM football coach Bronco Mendenhall said after Thursday’s practice. “It has to be, because rosters and players really determine success. There’s great coaches, and there’s a lot of coaches that are about the same.
“And really a player or two, or a roster addition or two can make the difference.”
With 20 extra scholarships due to every Autonomous Four (Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC) program and Notre Dame, Mendenhall said it “wouldn’t be hard” to see those 1,260 additional scholarships come at the expense of Group of Five programs.
“It’ll be interesting to see if that increases the number of transfers down to Group of Five schools from A4 — no one knows that yet,” he added. “And then for UNM, 20 more players with the potential of aid — what does that look like? Where do they come from?
“And what does that financing look like, right? For Mountain West schools, that’s all part of (what) has to be considered.”
The cap also poses an existential threat for a classification of players near and dear to Mendenhall’s heart: walk-ons. If every player can have a scholarship, could walk-ons become a casualty of college football’s new era?
“It’s hard to wrap my brain around that, because my passion is the development of young people,” he said. “And so many of the most fierce workers and best young people — who have gone on to do the most — didn’t receive aid. They did more with less to qualify for a scholarship and then become … so in some way, shape or form, I’ve got to address that.
“And it’s a work in progress.”
Thursday’s…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notebook-unm-football-20-extra-030200551.html
Author : Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Publish date : 2024-08-02 03:02:00
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