NCAA D1 Council dismisses annual signing, initial counter limits for next two recruiting cycles

The NCAA is making some interesting changes to Division I football, as it was announced on Wednesday that annual signing and initial counter limits are being removed for the next two academic years by a Division I Council.

“DI football annual signing and initial counter limits removed for next two academic years by DI Council,” tweeted Inside the NCAA. “All Council actions are not final until today’s meeting ends.”

Now, Division I football programs will have more flexibility in filling their rosters, as the scholarship limit of 25 is being removed. In addition, the NCAA Division I Council also relaxed restrictions for FBS football conference championship games on Wednesday.

“Division I Council relaxes restrictions for FBS football conference championship games; FBS conferences to determine their championship game participants,” tweeted Inside the NCAA. “All Council actions are not final until today’s meeting ends.”

As you can see, a bevy of exciting possible matchups have been created due to the Division I Council’s ruling. The most important games in the sport of college football will look different as divisions and automatic qualifiers are on their way to becoming a thing of the past.

With every change to the sport, some will love the move, while some will be disappointed. Nevertheless, the ever-changing world of college football keeps spinning, and there’s no signs of stopping anytime soon.

More on scheduling changes across college football, ACC

Moreover, the ACC has made headlines over the last week, as they’ve been at the forefront of possible scheduling and divisional changes throughout college football. To illustrate, Miami athletic director Dan Radokovich previously spoke about the possibility of an ACC scheduling change in 2023, providing many details about the new system.

According to David Teel’s prior report, the new conference leader revealed the ACC was moving closer to a 3-5-5 system, which eliminates football divisions.

With 14 current ACC members, the new scheduling change would provide each team with three annual opponents – allowing established rivalries to continue – while the other 10 opponents are split into two groups which rotate onto the schedule every other season.

According to the report, which used information given by Radakovich, the next step in the process is to consult with ESPN on the details and how they would impact the current television deal.

The new scheduling format would mark the first move away from the divisional format by a Power Five conference which holds more members than can play in every season. The Big 12 notably plays without divisions but the 10 teams face all nine opponents each year with just three non-conference games.