As of April 23, Judge Claudia Wilken of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California threatened to throw out the House vs. NCAA (National College Athletic Association) settlement if an agreement is not reached within 14 days regarding the gradual implementation of roster sizes.
The House vs. NCAA settlement is a $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by several collegiate athletes against the NCAA, specifically the association’s largest conferences, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SouthEastern Conferences.
The settlement was originally filed in 2020 by Grant House, a swimmer at Arizona State University. He aimed to challenge the NCAA’s rules regarding athletes’ ability to make money from their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
“So many of my friends on different teams across the country have just been cut on a random day. It’s just scary.” Hope Nolan, FCRH ’26
Even though the class action lawsuit has yet to be approved by the courts in California, the conversation it started in 2020 has changed the landscape of college athletics forever.
The ramifications of the settlement include roster caps replacing scholarship limits, stricter NIL oversight and the implementation of a new revenue-sharing model between universities and their athletes. Despite the positive changes that will occur due to settlement, there are possibilities for future legal challenges around athlete rights and Title IX compliance, a law requiring schools receiving federal funding to treat men and women equally in athletic settings.
The most recent obstacle to finalizing the settlement has been a back-and-forth over potential roster caps. Possible changes to the number of spots on a roster will have direct effects on sports like football, and swimming and diving.
These possible changes are on the minds of many athletes across the country, including Fordham Rams. Hope Nolan, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’26, is one of those athletes. Nolan has been on the women’s swim team since her first year. Although no athlete at Fordham has been cut due to potential roster sizes, Nolan’s concerns stem from what she has seen in the wider collegiate swimming community.
“So many of my friends on different teams across the country have just been cut on a random day,” she said. “It’s just scary.”
This year, Fordham athletes have been waiting to see how the Athletics Department will handle the upcoming settlement.
“I don’t think it’s honestly ever been formally addressed to all of athletics. I’m on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, so it has been brought up basically every month for the entire school year,” Nolan said. “It’s been like, ‘oh, we’ll let you guys know when we get more information on this; we’ll update you guys as it comes.’”
One of the most proposed updates to roster sizes for swimming and diving teams will cap the women’s squad at 30 athletes and the men’s at 26. Even if Fordham keeps all their athletes on its roster, this may not be true at other universities.
“What is changing is all the Power Four, Power Five schools are cutting so many people. Those people are entering the portal, and they’re trickling down into mid-major, and it has made everything way more elite than it’s ever been” Hope Nolan, FCRH ’26
“It is a difficult situation because I don’t know if other coaches have as much guidance from their moral compasses,” Nolan said. “My coaches did not want to cut kids; they do care about us so much.”
As of 2024, the NCAA has updated its transfer portal rules: athletes in good academic standing are eligible to play directly after transferring. The potential influx of athletes into the transfer portal will reshape the competition Fordham sees in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
“What is changing is all the Power Four, Power Five schools are cutting so many people. Those people are entering the portal, and they’re trickling down into mid-major, and it has made everything way more elite than it’s ever been,” Nolan said.
Even though the settlement has not been officially finalized, schools nationwide have participated in this new age of college athletics. In 2023, Fordham unveiled The Rose Hill Exchange, an online portal allowing student athletes to capitalize on their NIL by connecting them with local businesses.
If an agreement can be met between the two parties in the suit, the proposed changes could take effect as soon as July 1. According to new Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Magpayo, Fordham plans to find a place in this new era of college athletics.
“Everybody’s been prepared for this and the Fordham administration is opting in,” Magpayo said. “We are waiting on the house settlement to be completed, but we are prepared for it and operating as such.”
If the settlement is approved in California, it will set off a new landscape for college athletics that will only continue to evolve over the 10-year period outlined in the agreement.
