2025-2026 NCAA Hockey Update

Three court cases vs. the NCAA led to a significant settlement agreement, which in turn is bringing relevant changes for the 2025-2026 academic year. To summarize, every DI sport will be allowed to offer a full scholarship to every student athlete on their team but in turn, there will be strict roster caps (set by the NCAA) for each sport. With respect to men’s and women’s hockey (DI), the total number of scholarships is increasing from 18 to 26 with a roster cap set to 26. Teams previously were able to carry additional players in excess of those who were active, but with the new changes they will be forced to adhere to a roster of no more than 26 total student athletes.

With the addition of 8 full scholarships, there is talk among those in the Higher Education realm that while this does increase opportunities for student athletes, some institutions may not be able to afford the increase. We may see the gap increase between historically successful programs and those with less notoriety. Time will tell.

As student athletes pursuing either men’s or women’s NCAA hockey prepare for their recruitment journey, it is important to understand the differences between divisions with respect to recruiting timeline and scholarships. Division II programs provide 13.5 athletic scholarships in which the money can be distributed among student athletes per the coach’s discretion, while Division III programs offer zero athletic scholarships. Although they are Division I, Ivy League institutions do not offer athletic scholarships but they do however meet 100% of demonstrated financial need via need-based financial aid.

When it comes to the recruitment timeline, every aspect correlates with the high school student athlete in respect to their prospective NCAA sport, age, and calendar year.