SEC coaches, administrators discuss future of walk-ons in new era of college athletics (2024)

DESTIN, Fla. — The gospel of Texas A&M football, and the remainder of the athletic department for that matter, can’t be told without the concept of the walk-on athlete.

The lore of the 12th Man is exactly that — E. King Gil left his station in the press box and stood ready on the sidelines should he need to walk on the field in support of a injury-riddled Aggie football squad.

Tuesday, as the Southeastern Conference spring meetings opened up at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort, the future of the walk-on was a significant talking point in a laundry list of changes that are shaping college athletics.

“I think that would be a major problem, especially when you look at legacies of Texas A&M kids that are going to get the opportunity of play football at Texas A&M, potentially, taken away from them,” Aggie head coach Mike Elko said. “I think that’s something that’s really bad for the sport.”

As a part of the settlement for three class-action antitrust cases levied against the NCAA — House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA — scholarship caps have been eliminated for all sports. According to reports by Yahoo! Sports, roster caps will be implemented to financially level the playing field. Currently, a Division I football program can carry 85 scholarship players, but typically carry well over 100 players on roster, all of which are traditional or preferred walk-ons.

The magic number that dictates roster size moving forward has yet to be determined.

“Roster limits are a part of the settlement,” new A&M athletic director Trev Alberts said. “What those are — no decisions have been made. We’re sorting through some of those deals. There’s financial components to all of it.”

There is some time, however, as the new world order ushered in by the settlement won’t come to be until at least fall of 2025. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stressed Tuesday that the full and final terms of the settlement are still being worked out and could carry over into next year.

“The settlement announced last Thursday … is the agreement to teams on a really short form term sheet with the plaintiff’s counsel and the NCAA and the five conferences,” he said. “It’s not done. … There is a process to play out.”

While walk-ons occasionally have the opportunity to separate themselves on the field, potentially earning more playing time and the possibility of a scholarship, the true role of these depth players is serving on scout teams that help first- and second-team players in practice. Though the NFL has an active roster cap of 53 players, professional teams are allowed 16 practice squad players who serve in a similar role as walk-ons.

New Alabama head coach Karen DeBoer said, while he would always find a way to adjust to new rules, it would change how they were able to practice.

“There’s always a way to get it done,” he said. “Would it be a much different look than what we probably do as far as coaches in executing our practice plans? Absolutely.”

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, making his debut at SEC spring meetings, said he wants to know what would happen to the 35 walk-ons that he currently has on roster under a system that has a roster cap of scholarship-only players. One of those walk-ons is his son.

“What about the stories of all the great walk-ons over time, that really shaped a lot of what college football is about,” he said.

Alberts, who played college football at Nebraska and in the NFL, said walk-ons have always been a part of the football that he fell in love with.

“My past has contemplated a lot of walk-ons and I think about it a little bit more romantically, maybe, then some might, having been a football guy and seeing the impact,” he said. “But, the good news is we’re having very robust conversations. We’ll have some more and no details and decisions have been made in those areas. But, roster limits are certainly going to be a part of what this looks like going forward.”