Report: Greg Sankey confirms SEC could offer '20+ additional scholarships' in baseball after House ruling

As college athletics move closer to a model that will provide direct financial assistance to athletes in the form of revenue sharing, scholarship limits are on their way out in favor of new ‘roster limits.’

And the new roster limits could allow for significantly more players to receive financial aid.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has confirmed the new baseball roster limit will likely settle in the “mid-30s,” well above the current scholarship limit, which is capped at 11.7.

That would, in theory, provide schools with the ability to aid even more athletes, potentially increasing the quality of play in certain pockets of the sport. Of course, teams won’t be required to give the 20 or more additional “scholarships” if they don’t see fit.

For many, it may come down to a simple numbers game and an evaluation of how much revenue is being taken in. In many ways, that may exacerbate the differences between the proverbial haves and have-nots.

House settlement could change everything

With the very idea of scholarships being redefined, there is certainly change coming to college athletics.

As industry leaders work to finalize the long-term settlement agreement in the historic House case, attention has turned once again to the prospect of some athletes being deemed employees of their schools, a scenario that would further reshape the enterprise.

Stakeholders are confronting the potential – if not likelihood – of further industry upheaval, especially after last week’s ruling by a U.S. appeals court kept open the possibility that some athletes are employees of their school, thus entitled to federal minimum wage and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

One legal expert following the case closely is Laura O’Donnell, chair of Haynes Boone’s Wage and Hour Litigation Practice Group. She said the Johnson v. NCAA case sets the stage for a court to potentially find that some collegiate athletes qualify as employees entitled to compensation. 

“Without a doubt, schools competing for top athletes will use high compensation offers as part of recruitment efforts,” O’Donnell said. “Sports through which colleges and universities currently generate significant profits – like football and basketball – will start looking more like professional sports teams.”

On3’s Eric Prisbell also contributed to this report.