How Wisconsin football plans to handle the NCAA’s 105-man roster limit
Here's a look at how the Wisconsin Badgers intend to manage the NCAA’s 105-man roster limit and maintain its walk-on tradition heading into 2025.
The NCAA’s decision to reduce college football rosters from 120 to 105 players while allowing all of them to be on scholarship has sparked some debate.
Will it create a competitive imbalance by strengthening the elite programs, or could it help level the playing field by offering more opportunities for developmental teams and recruits?
For Wisconsin football, Badgers head coach Luke Fickell shared that the program intends to maintain a more traditional approach to roster construction, sticking to the 85-man scholarship limit, at least for now.
But Fickell also hinted at leveraging NIL funds to support the walk-on tradition that has long been a cornerstone of the Badgers’ success.
“I think we’re kind of in that same mold,” Fickell said when asked about the SEC’s approach. “I don’t know that the Big Ten is going to be much different. I know that there’s still some flexibility. By saying 85 [scholarships], you still have a lot of flexibility with the revenue sharing, so it’ll be interesting to see how things work.”
Fickell also stressed the importance of maintaining flexibility when building a roster—which makes sense given the constantly changing landscape that college football has evolved into during the transfer portal era.
“Do you have 85 scholarships, or do you have a lot of other money that you could pay for guys that maybe technically aren’t on scholarship?”
Wisconsin intends to keep its walk-on tradition alive
This approach could strike a necessary balance for a Wisconsin football team that’s still struggling to find its identity under coach Fickell.
By setting aside NIL funds for traditional walk-ons instead of maxing out scholarships, the Badgers can build depth with players who may not contribute right away but could develop into key contributors over time. Fickell sees these walk-ons as vital to Wisconsin’s identity.
It also ensures they have the flexibility to address roster needs through the transfer portal when the right fits emerge without tying up resources.
“There’s going be a lot of flexibility,” Fickell noted. “But I think that the idea of sticking with some hard cap number of scholarships is probably where we’ll be, and it’s a good thing for us because I still think it allows you to have some of those walk-on guys that are the core and crux of your program."
Maintaining strong ties to in-state players has always been a hallmark of Wisconsin’s success, particularly when it comes to recruiting preferred walk-ons. That said, Fickell’s staff hasn’t recruited in-state talent with the same level of success as the coaches that came before him. Instead, the Badgers’ staff has shifted toward a more nationally focused recruiting approach rather than attempting to build a fence around the state of Wisconsin.
These in-state athletes may not always check every box in terms of measurables, but their loyalty, work ethic, and pride in representing their home state have consistently made them invaluable contributors to the program. In many cases, their connection to Wisconsin provides stability that out-of-state players—prone to transferring at the first sign of adversity—often cannot.
The dependable presence of these local players at the back end of the roster shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to building a strong culture.
Look no further than former Badgers standouts like J.J. Watt, Jim Leonhard, Jared Abbrederis, Mark Tauscher, Jack Cichy, Joe Schobert, Garrett Groshek, and Alex Erickson, among many others.
It could also provide much-needed continuity to help offset outgoing transfers, while giving those walk-ons who stick around and develop a clearer path to earning snaps.
This approach goes beyond just finding diamonds in the rough—it’s about strengthening relationships with Wisconsin’s high school coaches and creating a sense of unity across the state, which you could argue Fickell's staff hasn't excelled at. Building a program with strong local roots could help foster more long-term stability and buy-in, which are invaluable in an era where the transfer portal has made rosters increasingly transient.
By keeping the walk-on tradition alive and focusing on some of that in-state talent, Fickell and the Badgers are betting on a proven formula to help restore the Wisconsin football team's identity while also having the flexibility to adapt on the fly if and when the right opportunities present itself.
In many ways, it helps preserve some of the core values that have defined the program’s success for decades. Whether Fickell and his staff can make it work remains to be seen, but the logic behind the approach checks out.
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