Dan Lanning ready to ‘adapt’ based on House settlement ruling, roster limits

Whether it’s the Transfer Portal, NIL, conference realignment, or a new postseason format, college football has rapidly undergone changes in recent years. The Oregon Ducks and head coach Dan Lanning have, during that time, been among those who have best adapted to the changes. Now, it looks like another change is coming.

Roster limits appear to be on the horizon thanks to the House settlement. With that, Lanning knows he needs to be ready to take on another new challenge.

“Adapt,” Dan Lanning said. “You’ve got to be ready to adapt. That’s one thing we’ve learned about college football, right? It’s going to continue to change. You’ve got to be the team that’s ready to adapt when that happens.”

The House settlement is the settlement for a lawsuit that is set to allow direct payment to student athletes, but its scope has gone beyond. With Judge Claudia Wilken in charge of giving final approval for the settlement, both sides have been working through the details. That now includes roster limits, which propose football teams go down to 105 players. That cap would likely force cuts.

“I like our roster. I like who we have on our team right now. So, hopefully, every one of those players that have worked really hard gets the opportunity to be part of the roster in fall camp, but we don’t completely control all of that. So, we’ll see how it plays out.”

Wilken recently gave attorneys 14 days to change the language so that House Settlement regarding roster limits. That would make it so that they grandfather in roster limits or phase in the roster limits. So, while waiting for the final settlement, coaches like Lanning need to wait and see with their rosters.

While Wilken did give preliminary approval for the House settlement, she still needs to give it final approval. That language around roster limits is something that could completely disrupt things.

Ryan Day details plan to adjust when NCAA House Settlement determines roster size

Dan Lanning isn’t the only Big Ten head coach with concerns around roster size. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day also shared that he needed to put a plan in place depending on how things shake out.

“So, we’re looking at increasing it to 90 [scholarships]. That’s what the conversations have been, and then, like you said, it’s difficult when you think it’s going to be 105 and now they’re saying maybe it won’t go to 105, but if it does we better make sure we can pivot quickly. So, if the 105 cap isn’t put into play, we’ll operate at right around 120, 121, like we’ve been. Those are kind of the parameters that we’re working with right now, knowing we might have to pivot quickly, which I know is tough for a lot of those guys who are on the fence,” Day said.

“So, that’s kind of why we wanted to make sure we’re transparent but this is kind of the way it is in college football right now. You’ve got to be able to adapt quickly and move on the run. The easy thing to do is throw up your hands, get frustrated. But just try to adapt and communicate well and make sure we have everything we need.”

Under the current House Settlement, proposed rosters include football (105), men’s and women’s basketball (15), baseball (34), men’s and women’s soccer (28), softball (25) and volleyball (18). Some schools have already begun working to hit those limits.