With the House settlement expected to eliminate scholarship limits for most NCAA Division I athletics programs, we’ve already seem powerhouse programs like Ohio State (91 new scholarships) and the University of Texas (199.8 new scholarships) announce increases in scholarship offerings.
It’s not only the big schools that are getting a bump in scholarships. Florida Gulf Coast University, an NCAA Division I mid-major school without football, has announced that it’s programs received a 40% increase in scholarship money on average. Sources close to the women’s swimming and diving team told SwimSwam that their scholarship count will go from 11 scholarships to 18.
The university had its big spotlight moment in 2013 when its men’s basketball team had a Cinderella run, beating #2 seed Georgetown 78-68; two days later, they beat a #7 seed San Diego State, making them the first #15 seed to ever reach the Sweet 16.
Around the same time, the women’s swimming program had a big run as well. The program was launched in the 2007-2008 season, and cracked off a run of conference titles before landing a 200 medley relay in the A-Final at the NCAA Championships: an incredible rarity for a mid-major program.
In 2016, the current head coach Dave Rollins took over the program. The Eagles finished 2nd in the ASUN conference last month, and are among the favorites to win next season after Liberty, the conference champions, move to the American.
Florida Gulf Coast is expected to opt in to the House settlement, which gives them the right, but not the obligation, to share up to $20.5 million in revenue with student-athletes. The latest USA Today data shows that FGCU has never recorded more than $17.5 million in annual revenue (through the latest available data, which is for 2022), though that number isn’t as small as it seems without a football program. As a comparison point, North Alabama, another ASUN school that does have a football program, earns about $20 million a year in revenue.
While the House settlement is coming with massive roster cuts this week, as schools have to get below 30 men and 30 women on their swimming & diving rosters (with some schools and conferences opting for lower numbers), there is a tradeoff in a lot more scholarships becoming available.
FGCU currently lists 29 athletes on its roster. FGCU’s tuition for an in-state student is currently $6,118 per semester and $25,162 for out-of-state students.
This is fantastic news! I hope more schools go in this direction!