As decades upon decades brought us athletic greats from Herschel Walker and Lew Alcindor to Jennie Finch and Caitlin Clark, college sports are changing — and changing fast.

In May, attorneys began the settlement of a string of antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA concerning player compensation. And that settlement, now known collectively as the House settlement after plaintiff and former Arizona State swimmer Grant House, will now drastically shape the future of college athletics.

The lawsuits first claimed the NCAA was “illegally restricting the earning potential of college athletes,” according to ESPN. Thus, in the settlement, the NCAA agreed to pay $2.8 billion in damages to former and current collegiate athletes since 2016.

The NCAA’s conferences will contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund this back pay, but the NCAA will fund the rest through reduced payouts to successful teams in NCAA postseason tournaments. Eligible college athletes can make their claim for the back pay at collegeathletecompensation.com.

Additionally, the settlement allows schools to directly pay their players through shares of the revenue their sports bring in — but only for schools that opt in to the stipulation. Without restrictions on direct payment, universities can pay players out of a cap of roughly $20 million per school.

But with that comes concerns. Per ESPN, the overwhelming majority of such back pay and revenue sharing will likely go to football and men’s basketball players because they bring in the most money, which could be inequitable to women and violate Title IX laws.

Lastly, the settlement would allow the NCAA to limit third-party boosters and name, image, and likeness deals in preventing collectives from using endorsements to attract players to their universities.

After preliminary approval from Claudia Wilken, U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California, on Oct. 7, a final hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for April 7, 2025, with the conditions to go into effect in July.

In “An Open Letter to Buckeye Nation” on Nov. 21, Ohio State University Athletic Director Ross Bjork announced his commitment to maintaining all 36 of the university’s 36 sports and fully funding that $20 million to directly pay players. And he expressed excitement at what will be 91 new athletic scholarships.

“As we begin the transition period for this new era of intercollegiate athletics here at The Ohio State University, we must collectively harness and direct all of our assets so we can continue to lead and maximize our full potential,” Bjork stated. “We are actively reviewing a range of initiatives where all of Buckeye Nation can continue to stay invested or create new opportunities to be involved.”

Such initiatives, according to Bjork, include revising football season ticket plans, increasing corporate sponsorships, and expanding licensing and branding.

“We will also continue to work diligently to further reduce operating expenses while uncovering many of the new revenue sources that fit Ohio State traditional values,” he stated. “We are committed to being extremely innovative and creative amid these changes to the collegiate sports model. During these times of immense change, we have an opportunity to show the world what it means to be a Buckeye and lead the way into the future.”

In “A Letter from Beth Goetz” on Oct. 18, University of Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz offered a much vaguer picture.

“It is a fundamental shift in intercollegiate athletics, and we are committed to embracing the future and remaining competitive in this new environment,” she stated. “We must contain our current expenses while seeking new revenue opportunities and growing current income streams. I am confident in our plan moving forward while realizing we will need to continue to navigate as the landscape changes in the months ahead.”

The settlement certainly raises concerns about funding Iowa’s athletics should the athletic department opt in to revenue sharing. That’s especially prominent considering the establishment of a women’s wrestling program, new wrestling and gymnastics facilities, outdoor track resurfacing, and new turf and lights at the baseball field — all in the last two years.

The program will need to keep as much revenue as it can over the foreseeable future to recoup the costs of such investments. But if it doesn’t pay its players, they’ll find another place to play.

A final key aspect of the settlement is the elimination of scholarship limits. Universities will be permitted to offer as many scholarships as roster spots. But rosters are limited as a result, meaning some players will be cut, and even fewer will be recruited.

After Signing Day in early December, many athletes — especially in Olympic sports — who committed to universities under promises of scholarships or roster spots are now finding out such promises are no longer guaranteed. And some who have enrolled are even learning they’ve been cut.

ESPN found the new maximum roster size for 19 of 43 NCAA sports would be smaller than the current average rosters in those sports, meaning there will be thousands of fewer football, baseball, and women’s soccer players next year.

For example, football rosters currently grant 85 scholarships to a Football Bowl Subdivision average of 121 roster spots. And while the scholarship number could increase to 105 with this settlement should programs fund 105 scholarships, that 105 number also means rosters will be limited to 105 players. So, roughly 15 will be cut, and one can almost guarantee those will be walk-ons.

Indeed, in light of the settlement, this year, the Iowa football program signed 15 players but just two walk-ons, impeding the team’s history of development and reliance on walk-ons into starters such as Super Bowl Champion Dallas Clark.

“Obviously, the two walk-ons and that number being so low is due to the 105 number,” Iowa football general manager Tyler Barnes said on Signing Day on Dec. 4. “As we’re going through and trying to restructure our roster, there’s not as much space as we once had. That’s something that’s definitely unique for us. Usually, we’ve always got 10 to 12 walk-ons that are committed at this point. This year, only having two is a little bit different.”

The changes have strained Hawkeye football coaches in their needs for talent at their respective positions balanced with roster limits and, surely soon enough, compensation.

“You have to be in constant communication with Coach [Kirk] Ferentz, the coordinators, the position coaches on just what the outlook of the room looks like,” Barnes said. “Now more than ever, we’ve condensed those spots.

“You realize that 105 is still a lot of players, but going from 130 to 105, you are really cutting a lot of meat off the bone,” he added. “It’s been a fun exercise. We’re still talking through it as a staff and figuring out where we’re going and how we want to budget everything, but it certainly played a role into this class being a little bit smaller this year.”

As a result, Barnes finds his players falling into different groups, some set on transferring out, others willing to stay through the spring and fight for a roster spot, and others willing to stay and focus on academics if cut.

“You certainly have to have those conversations to give these kids a heads-up because if they want to hit the portal now, you want to do it,” he said. “I’ve talked to some teams where they aren’t going to tell anybody until the spring, which I think morally and ethically is wrong because then that window is a little bit different than this window.”

Barnes said he’s given every player the opportunity to return in the spring and compete, but as the House settlement nears finalization, an opportunity is no longer guaranteed.