The College Football Season Is Upon Us. What's Changed?

Forbes

09-08-2025

This college football season promises to be unlike any before, due to several significant and unprecedented changes. In general, changes in college athletics are happening so fast that the business side of college sports is barely recognizable compared to just five years ago. College football, in particular, is expected to look very different, both on and off the field. What are some of the key changes that will shape the 2025 season?
Settlement, Revenue Sharing, Scholarships, and The Portal: College Football's New Reality
After a pivotal court decision this summer, college athletics have entered a new era, marking the first academic year following the House v. NCAA Settlement. For those who are not familiar, on June 6, 2025, the U.S. District Courts approved a landmark settlement that essentially allows college athletic programs to directly compensate student-athletes for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The ruling marks a milestone in college athletics, as it effectively ends the amateurism ideal and transitions to a professional model.
The case, which resolved multiple antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and its power conferences, included back damages ordering the NCAA and these conferences to pay $2.8 billion to student-athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024. The largest share of the return is expected to go to football and men's basketball players, the primary revenue-generating sports.
Another major development resulting from the court decision is the establishment of a new 10-year revenue-sharing model in college sports. For the 2025-26 academic year, college athletic departments may now distribute up to $20.5 million in NIL money to their student-athletes, with an estimated 75 percent of the funds expected to go to football, according to USA Today. These new benefits for student-athletes would be in addition to the existing forms of assistance they currently receive, such as free tuition, room and board, grants, academic support, nutritional resources, medical and mental health insurance, and other services.
Along with the revenue-sharing feature, the new model will include a significant increase in scholarships across NCAA sports. Notably, football saw its scholarship cap raise from 85 to a roster limit of 105, providing athletic departments greater flexibility with recruitment and talent development. This shift is expected to enhance roster depth and recruiting power, while also increasing financial and resource demands.
In addition to these legislative changes, the NCAA Transfer Portal witnessed a record total of 3,400 FBS football players enter during the December and April transfer windows, according to ESPN. College football continues to be a transient environment. As a result, coaches and administrators are scrambling to adapt.
For several college football coaches, The NCAA Transfer Portal poses significant challenges with regard to continuity, recruitment, and roster management. Also, Power Four conference football coaches tend to favor a single transfer portal window. The April window is strongly opposed due to interference with spring practices and tampering concerns. During the SEC annual meetings week in late May, Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart voiced his concerns about the April timeframe. 'You think tampering is a problem? Put that portal in April and see what teams do in January, February, and March," reported by ESPN. Smart's starting quarterback from last season, Carson Beck, transferred to Miami in 2025. In the age of The Transfer Portal, teams continue to adapt their approaches and attempt to navigate its complexities.
Playoff Updates, NFL Influence in Leadership, and the Preseason Top 5 Teams
Besides off-field legal reforms and business developments, the College Football Playoff (CFP) structure underwent changes as well. Previously, the four highest-ranked conference championship teams automatically received first round byes in the 12-team tournament. For the 2025-26 season, there will still be 12 playoff teams, and all five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a place in the playoff. However, the top four teams in the final ranking by the CFP Selection Committee, regardless of conference, will now receive a first-round bye. The rationale for this adjustment is that the best performing teams in the regular season will benefit from this advantage.
Shifting the focus from the legislative side to the football field, college football welcomes NFL legend Bill Belichick, who begins his tenure as head coach at the University of North Carolina. Long-time NFL executive Michael Lombardi joins him at North Carolina as the football team's general manager (GM), a newly created position. With full details of his contract recently released on UNC's athletic department website, Lombardi signed a three-year contract worth $1.5 million per season in July—an agreement that took effect this past December. The GM position for college football programs is a recent development and increasingly resembles professional sports. Frank Reich, Stanford's interim head football coach, will also be coaching in college for the first time after playing quarterback for 13 seasons in the NFL and coaching for another 18 seasons in the league.
From a competitive standpoint, the SEC and Big Ten conferences remain the strongest. Since 2019, the national champion has come from one of these two conferences. According to the Coaches Poll, college football's preseason top five ranked teams are: 1) Texas, 2) Ohio State, 3) Penn State, 4) Georgia, and 5) Notre Dame. The Associated Press (AP) Poll's preseason rankings will be revealed on Monday August 11th. An exciting early season matchup features Texas traveling to Columbus to play Ohio State at the Big Horseshoe, potentially showcasing a game between the top-two ranked teams.
The 2025 college football season is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing in recent memory. With significant changes in college athletics both on and off the field, this fall football season promises to bring plenty of excitement and challenges for all stakeholders involved.