How Many Players Are on a College Football Team?

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Under NCAA football rules in place for the 2012-13 biennium, a college football team is limited to no more than 105 players during the offseason. During the football season, no regulated limit exists.

The 105-player limit comes into effect following a team’s final game of the season and ends with the first game of the next season or the first day of classes in the next fall semester, whichever comes first. This rule limits the roster to 105 players during the first several weeks of football practice at many institutions due to the fall semester starting at a later date. Football teams may choose to expand the team roster beyond 105 players during the season, but this is not required. Non-scholarship players added to the roster are popularly known as walk-ons.