Hugh Freeze: SEC presidents told coaches to prepare for 85 scholarships, not 105

One of the hot-button topics of the proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA lawsuit centers around roster limits for college football teams. And Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze shared a glimmer of insight into the matter on Wednesday.

Speaking on the SEC coaches teleconference, Freeze said that he’d been informed by Auburn leadership to target 85 scholarships — under the proposed settlement, there will be no scholarship limits, just roster limits — indicating the roster number might be at 85. The current NCAA scholarship limit is 85, and the roster limit for college football was initially reported to be 105.

“Well that’s just what we’ve heard from our presidents,” Freeze said. “That we need to — I don’t know that that’s fact on it’s going to stay there or not. I just think we were told that we should plan and for our signing day plan on it being the 85 number for scholarships. And I don’t know that that means it’s going to stay there but that’s what I’ve been told to try to base it on come December.”

The House settlement, if approved, is expected to take effect prior to the 2025-26 NCAA seasons.

And Freeze broached the 85 player topic when discussing the challenges of trying to fill scholarship slots on the roster with high school recruits, but evidently needing to turn to transfers due to the timing of the college football calendar.

As coaches are inking high school signing classes in early December, they’re also at the mercy of players leaving into the portal.

“We’re signing for an 85-man roster in early December and then the portal opens and you lose some guys and you’re forced, pretty much, the only thing you can do at that point is there’s either some unsigned kids out there, which I think would be very few,” Freeze said. “Or I think you have to go to the portal to replace those. There is no formula that I don’t think anyone could give that is going to be a consistent one in trying to manage your 85-man rosters. It’s very, very difficult.