Football Athletic Scholarships: FBS, FCS, D2, and D3 — What Families Need to Know
·8 min read·Peter Kildegaard
The House v. NCAA settlement has reshaped the football scholarship landscape in ways most families haven't caught up with. Under the new roster limit system (effective 2025-26), both FBS and FCS programs now operate under the same 105-player roster limit — and any rostered player can receive a full scholarship. That's a major structural change, especially for FCS programs, which previously operated under a 63-equivalency system that forced coaches to split scholarship money into partial awards. D2 programs still work under 36 equivalencies. D3 offers nothing in athletic aid.
But the rule change didn't come with new money. Power 4 FBS programs will fund most or all of their 105 spots with full scholarships. Most FCS and Group of Five programs won't — their budgets are built for the old system, and partial awards will remain common. The level your athlete is actually targeting shapes what financial support looks like entirely, and understanding the budget reality at each level matters more than the roster limit number.
Football scholarship structure by level
FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) — 105 roster limit.
Under the House v. NCAA settlement, FBS programs can carry up to 105 players on scholarship — up from the old 85-headcount limit. Every scholarship can be a full scholarship: tuition, room, board, fees, and a cost-of-attendance stipend. At Power 4 programs with large athletic budgets, most or all roster spots will be fully funded. Group of Five programs will fund as many spots as their budgets allow, and some may use partial awards to stretch further. If a Power 4 program offers your athlete a scholarship, expect it to cover everything. At Group of Five programs, ask what the scholarship specifically covers.
FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) — 105 roster limit.
FCS programs now share the same 105-player roster limit as FBS — a major change from the old system, which gave FCS coaches just 63 equivalencies to split across rosters of 90-plus players. Under the new rules, FCS programs can offer full scholarships to any rostered player. In practice, most FCS budgets haven't expanded to match the new flexibility. Programs that previously funded 63 equivalencies' worth of scholarship money are now distributing that same budget across the roster. The result: FCS scholarship offers will continue to range from full rides for top recruits to partial awards for depth players, depending on the program's budget. When an FCS coach offers "scholarship money," the follow-up question remains critical: what percentage of a full scholarship, and what dollar amount?
Division II — 36 equivalencies.
D2 football programs have 36 scholarship equivalencies per program. With roster sizes of 80–95 players, the average coverage is thinner than FCS — roughly 38–45% of a full scholarship per scholarship player, before accounting for the athletes receiving nothing. D2 scholarships are often partial and sometimes small, but D2 schools frequently stack athletic aid with academic merit aid, which can build a more substantial total package than the athletic portion alone suggests.
Division III — No athletic scholarships.
D3 football programs cannot offer any form of athletic scholarship. Financial aid is entirely merit-based and need-based. D3 coaches can advocate in the admissions process and can sometimes influence institutional aid outcomes for recruits they're actively pursuing, but there is no athletic money. Families targeting D3 programs need to run the net price calculator on each school before assuming the absence of athletic aid makes D3 unaffordable — at selective private D3 schools, need-based and merit packages can be substantial.
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FBS vs. FCS vs. D2 vs. D3: scholarship counts and what they mean
Level
Scholarships
Type
Typical roster size
FBS (D1)
105 roster limit
Full scholarships for most at Power 4; varies at Group of Five
Up to 105 scholarship players
FCS (D1)
105 roster limit
Full scholarships allowed; most programs still award partials
90–105 total players
D2
36
Equivalency
80–95 total players
D3
0
None
60–90 total players
NAIA
24
Equivalency
50–80 total players
A detail worth understanding about FCS under the new system: the 105 roster limit means FCS programs can now formally roster more scholarship athletes than before. Top FCS programs — North Dakota State, James Madison, South Dakota State, and similar programs with strong budgets — may fund significantly more roster spots at higher levels than under the old 63-equivalency system. The level of play at the top end of FCS is genuinely strong, and NFL draft pipelines run through the FCS as much as the Group of Five.
Walk-on opportunities and preferred walk-ons
Walk-ons exist at every level of college football, but they function differently depending on the division.
Preferred walk-ons at FBS are athletes a coaching staff specifically recruits to join the program without scholarship money — at least initially. FBS programs use preferred walk-on offers to extend their roster depth beyond the 105-player scholarship roster. A preferred walk-on receives a formal invitation to join the program, is expected to participate in spring and fall camp, and competes for playing time on the same basis as scholarship athletes. Walk-on scholarships — also called "earning a scholarship" — happen when the coaching staff decides to add a walk-on to the scholarship roster, usually after they've demonstrated their value in practice and competition. This is a real pathway; it's also not a reliable plan.
At FCS and D2, walk-on opportunities are common but less formally structured. Coaches have more scholarship flexibility than at FBS (they can offer smaller partial awards), so the line between a partial-scholarship recruit and a walk-on recruit is blurrier. An athlete with interest from an FCS program should always ask directly: "Is there scholarship money available, and if not now, is there a realistic path to scholarship consideration?"
At D3, walk-ons and scholarship athletes are the same thing — there is no scholarship. Every athlete on the roster is technically a walk-on in the financial sense.
What football scholarship offers actually look like in practice
At Power 4 FBS programs, an offer almost always means a full ride. At Group of Five programs, most offers are also full scholarships, though the new roster limit system gives coaches more flexibility than before. What's worth understanding is that FBS offers come at very different stages of the process depending on the program's tier. Power Four programs frequently offer elite prospects in their sophomore year. Group of Five programs tend to offer later, often after a strong junior year. For families targeting FBS but watching sophomore recruiting offers go to athletes in their son's position group, the timeline is confusing — it looks like the process is passing them by, when in reality Group of Five and FCS interest often follows later in the cycle.
At FCS, the conversation is always about percentages. A coach who says "we're interested in offering you scholarship money" has told you nothing actionable. The follow-up question is: "What percentage of a full scholarship are you discussing, and what does that translate to in dollars at your school?" A 50% scholarship at a school with a $50,000 cost of attendance is $25,000 per year. A 25% scholarship at the same school is $12,500. Both are "scholarship offers." The numbers are not comparable without the percentage and the baseline cost.
At D2, equivalency scholarships are often smaller in absolute dollar terms, but D2 schools regularly allow athletic and academic aid to stack. A D2 program might offer 25% athletic aid plus a merit scholarship worth another 20% — producing a total 45% discount that's competitive with many FCS partial offers and more affordable in absolute terms if the school costs less to begin with.
The bottom line
For most football families, the scholarship reality at the level their athlete is targeting looks nothing like the FBS full-ride model. FCS programs offer real money, but it's partial and split across large rosters. D2 programs offer less per player in athletic aid, but academic and merit aid stacking can build a meaningful total package. D3 programs offer zero athletic money, but financial aid packages based on academic credentials and need can still produce affordable outcomes.
The most useful thing a football family can do early in the process is calculate what their family can actually afford to pay per year before evaluating any offers. The college athletic scholarships overview explains the full roster limit and scholarship framework and how to run the net price comparison. Once you understand the financial picture at each level, the football college recruiting guide walks through the timeline, evaluation process, and what coaches at each level are actually looking for. If you're at the stage of sorting out which division your athlete belongs in, D1 vs. D2 vs. D3 differences covers the full picture — scholarships, academic rules, recruiting timelines, and the athlete experience at each level. If you're weighing whether to hire a recruiting service to manage this process, here's a breakdown of what those services cost and what families typically get for the investment.
