How college football's 105-man roster rule works: Exceptions, replacements and loopholes
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Never has there been more focus on college football teams submitting their player-rosters before the start of a season.
With courtroom drama Thursday, Sept. 3, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the roster intrigue is one more element to place at the feet of the sport’s self-proclaimed “Portal King,” Lane Kiffin.
However, it is a nuanced process that in theory sets the baseline for which 105 players can be available to an Football Bowls Subdivision (FBS) throughout the upcoming 2026 campaign.
How it works:
First of all, rosters do not go directly to the NCAA nor to these teams’ respective conferences.
All teams are required to submit their rosters to CAPS (College Athlete Payment System) no later than 24 hours prior to their first game of the college football season. CAPS and its oversight technically falls under the umbrella of the College Sports Commission (CSC).
If a team submits a full 105-player roster prior to its first competition of the season, that’s it. Those are the players with whom that team rides throughout the season.
Except … you guessed. There are very limited exceptions to the rule.
What are exceptions to NCAA roster rules?
If a program does not submit the maximum 105 players prior to the first competition, it may still add student-athletes up to that limit, per NCAA bylaws reviewed by USA TODAY Sports.
Additionally, if a team submits a roster and then an individual player develops an illness or suffers an injury prior to the start of the season, that player may be replaced on the 105-man roster.
What happens if a player is suspended and deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA during the season? Well, that player can then be replaced on the roster.
What if a player withdraws from the team and announces an intention transfer?
It’s nuanced. If the player completely withdraws from the team and also from the academic institution as student, the individual can be replaced. If the individual leaves the team but remains enrolled, that roster spot is lost.
What about DSAs?
Designated Student-Athletes, who had to be declared to the NCAA in summer 2025 after the terms of the House Settlement were established, can never count against a roster-cap and also could be added above the 105-player roster in-season.
How so? Let’s say that court orders go in favor of non-pro athletes from last year’s class who otherwise had exhausted their eligibility but now seek a return to playing for a fifth year, since the NCAA’s adoption June 23, 2026, of the new “age-based” eligibility model that grants all current and future NCAA student-athletes five years to play five seasons. An individual with that DSA designation under those auspices could be added to a roster this fall.
How does the start of the season and formally submitting the roster impact practice for the remainder of the year?
“You can have as many guys as you want participating in activities prior to the first date of competition,” a Power conference compliance director explained to USA TODAY Sports. “After that point through the end of the year, you have to be on the roster to participate in any athletics activities, including practice.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How college football's 105-man roster rule works: Exceptions, replacements and loopholes
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos