Head coach Jeff Choate says Nevada football can take advantage of NCAA scholarship changes

Nevada football coach Jeff Choate said the changes to scholarship limits in the NCAA should help the Wolf Pack.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that the power conference commissioners finalized new roster-size limits this week, which will increase the number of scholarships schools can give athletes in five sports, including football.

Teams will be allowed to add 20 scholarships in football, from the current 85 up to 105, starting with the 2025-26 school year. School can also make all sports scholarships partial, considered "equivalency sports." Football, basketball and other sports are currently considered "head-count sports," which require players on scholarship to receive a full grant.

Choate said he likes having a maximum number of players at 105. Sometimes teams start with as many as 120 players, then cut the roster.

He said going to the equivalency plan instead of head-count makes the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) similar to the lower-level Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

"I think that gives me an advantage. I'm used to managing a roster with partial scholarships," Choate said.

Choate coached at Montana State, in the FCS Division, from 2016-20.

More scholarship slots, more room for creativity

He said partial scholarships could cover books and fees. and that it could be a good way to keep in-state football players at Nevada, if they can get other academic scholarships to help pay for school.

"Maybe he's a really good student and in state he qualifies for a Presidential Scholarship at the University of Nevada and we only have to come up with (25 percent) to get him to a full (scholarship)," Choate said. "So we can be creative with how we elevate the rest of the roster."

Other scholarship changes include baseball, with a current scholarship restriction of 11.7 but expected to increase to 34. Scholarship spots for softball and volleyball, each currently at 12, will increase to 25 and 18, respectively. Basketball would go from 13 to 15.

More than 60 additional scholarships would be made available for distribution in five sports.

Schools are not required to distribute scholarships to each player.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Head coach Jeff Choate says Nevada football can take advantage of NCAA scholarship changes