Ten athletes from Ohio University’s swim and dive team were told they would not be returning for the 2025–26 season in brief, individual meetings held March 3. Each athlete was called to the Aquatic Center for a five to 10 minute conversation with Head Coach Mason Norman, who informed them they were no longer part of the team’s future roster.
Despite the roster changes, OU did not remove any incoming freshmen. The 2024–25 roster included 47 athletes, with seven seniors expected to graduate. With a new anticipated NCAA roster limit set at 30, 10 athletes had to be removed or “uninvited” to meet the requirement.
These changes stem from a sweeping shift in NCAA policy tied to a proposed legal settlement involving the House v. NCAA antitrust case. While the lawsuit centers on Power Five schools, their impact will extend to all Division I programs, including those in the Mid-American Conference. Final approval of the settlement, expected Monday, was delayed at least a week, as the judge requested “additional tweaks to the settlement's terms regarding roster limits and whether future players should be tied to the current class in the multi-billion dollar lawsuit,” according to CBS.
The proposed caps could leave nearly 5,000 athletes without roster spots, raising concerns about protecting current players and allowing future legal objections. Although the settlement would allow schools to offer scholarships to every rostered athlete, it also imposes new roster caps meant to align with or slightly exceed previous scholarship limits.
As sophomore diver Savannah Bos walked in for her meeting with Norman, she noticed something missing. The picture of her cat she had taped to the wall above the diving board, something she used to focus on during practices, was gone. That moment, though small, captured the overwhelming feeling many athletes described. It felt like their presence, routines and roles on the team were being quietly erased. Even more painful, Bos said, was the lack of closure.
“Nobody knew it was their last meet ever,” Bos said. “There was no banquet, no senior meet, diving was just done after that five minute meeting.”
In some of the March 3 meetings, athletes said Norman also advised them to consider entering the transfer portal or to pursue medical disqualification. However, historically, entering the portal typically results in forfeiting any athletic scholarships provided by OU, and with many unanswered questions regarding scholarships, many swimmers were hesitant. Medical disqualification preserves eligibility for aid, but the scholarship must then be paid by the NCAA rather than the OU Athletic Department.
In a letter clarifying the roster limit policy, Scott Bearby, NCAA senior vice president of legal affairs and general counsel, wrote athletes removed from rosters under the new rules “cannot cause any current scholarship student athlete to lose his or her scholarship.” Bearby also advised universities to “remind (their) coaching staff of this issue and ask that they be mindful of it in communicating with student-athletes about roster management decisions.”
For many of the affected swimmers, that was not their experience.
Sophomore Emma Lykins, a psychology major and out of state student, was among those uninvited. She feared losing her “hefty athletic scholarship” and said her coach encouraged her to enter the transfer portal, despite its risks. Lykins has not entered the transfer portal but said she chose to attend OU because she was promised stability and no program cuts during her recruitment process, which gave her confidence in case of injury or performance issues.
“I just felt completely betrayed,” Lykins said. “I was lied to, essentially everything that I was promised about this program just wasn’t true.”
Maddie Berg, a freshman studying chemistry, was also among those uninvited. She said one of the hardest parts was having spent the season helping recruit the very athletes who would ultimately take her place on the roster.
“It’s especially difficult because we’ve been here for a year. We’ve gotten used to the campus and what it’s like being here in every aspect related to swimming and not,” Berg said. “So now we have to make a choice between swimming or staying in the place where we really feel like we belong now.”
Melissa Blaine, a freshman from Florida studying psychology, entered the transfer portal after being uninvited.
“It’s extremely hard and I still don’t know if I made the right decision,” Blaine said. “I’m trusting my gut here and I think it’s the right thing, but it’s really hard to let go of all of this.”
Blaine said she feels frustrated the roster caps would disproportionately affect women’s sports at OU, and although she loves the university, she still wants to pursue swimming at the collegiate level.
“I really love OU,” Blaine said. “I just don’t want to give up my dream.”
The OU Athletic Department said it is "following all applicable NCAA rules" and "will adjust accordingly" as the rules change, noting it is closely monitoring the evolving regulatory environment.”
“Unless (athletes) have exhausted eligibility or have entered the transfer portal, there have been no changes to the roster,” Sara Legarsky, OU’s senior director of athletic communications, wrote in an email Tuesday.
