15.5.5 Football Limitations15.5.5.1 Division I-A Football. [i-A] There shall be an annual limit of 25 on the number of initial counters (per Bylaw 15.02.3.1) and an annual limit of 85 on the total number of counters (including initial counters) in the sport of football at each Division I-A institution. (Revised: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/92)
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15.5.5.3 Initial Counters—Football (Also see Bylaw 15.02.3.1)
15.5.5.3.1 Recruited Student-Athlete Entering in Fall Term, Aided in First Year. [i-A/I-AA] A student-athlete recruited by the awarding institution who enters in the fall term and receives institutional financial aid (based in any degree on athletics ability) during the first academic year in residence shall be an initial counter for that year in the sport of football. Therefore, such aid shall not be awarded if the institution has reached its limit on the number of initial counters prior to the award of institutional financial aid to the student-athlete.
15.5.5.3.2 Recruited Student-Athlete Entering after Fall Term, Aided in First Year. [i-A/IAA] A student-athlete recruited by the awarding institution who enters subsequent to the first term of the academic year and immediately receives institutional financial aid (based in any degree on athletics ability) shall be an initial counter for either the current academic year (if the institution’s annual limit has not been reached) or the next academic year. The student-athlete shall be included in the institution’s total counter limit during the academic year in which the aid was first received.
15.5.5.3.3 Recruited Student-Athlete, Aid Received Subsequent to First Year. [i-A/I-AA] A recruited student-athlete (including a student-athlete who was a partial qualifier or nonqualifier) in the sport of football who first receives athletically related financial aid subsequent to the student-athlete’s first academic year in residence shall be an initial counter for that academic year in which the aid is first received, if such aid is received during the fall term. However, such a student-athlete who first receives athletically related financial aid in the second or third term of an academic year may be considered an initial counter during the academic year in which aid was first received or the next academic year. In either case, the student-athlete shall be included in the institution’s total counter limit during the academic year in which the aid was first received.
15.5.5.3.4 Nonrecruited Student-Athlete Receiving Institutional Financial Aid. [i-A/I-AA] A student-athlete not recruited by the institution who receives institutional financial aid (based in any degree on athletics ability) subsequent to beginning football practice becomes a counter but need not be counted as an initial counter until the next academic year if the institution has reached its initial limit for the year in question. However, the student-athlete shall be considered in the total counter limit for the academic year in which the aid was first received.
15.5.5.3.5 Midyear Replacement. [i-A/I-AA] A counter who graduates at midyear or who graduates during the previous academic year (including summer) may be replaced by an initial counter, who shall be counted against the initial limit for the following academic year. A Division I-A or I-AA institution may use the midyear replacement exception only if it previously has provided financial aid during that academic year to the maximum number of overall counters (i.e., 85 total counters) in the sport of football. (Revised: 4/20/99 effective 8/1/99, 6/8/99, 4/26/01 effective 8/1/01)
15.5.5.3.6 Divisions I-A and I-AA Football—Aid First Awarded Subsequent to Second Year. [i-A/I-AA] A student-athlete who has been in residence at the certifying institution for at least two academic years may receive athletically related financial aid for the first time without such aid counting as an initial award, provided the aid falls within the overall grant limitation. (Adopted: 1/11/89; Revised: 1/10/90 effective 8/1/90)
15.5.5.3.7 Recruited Student-Athlete, Varsity Competition. [i-A/I-AA] In accordance with Bylaw 15.5.5.2.1, deleted, a recruited student-athlete receiving institutional financial aid certified as having been granted without regard in any degree to athletics ability becomes an initial counter in the first academic year in which the student-athlete competes on the varsity level.
15.5.5.3.8 Returning Two-Year Transfer. [i-A/I-AA] A student-athlete who previously was an initial counter and who transferred to a two-year college shall not be an initial counter upon return to the original institution.
15.5.5.3.9 Delayed Initial Counter Who Does Not Return to School. [i-A/I-AA] A student-athlete who receives countable financial aid but whose status as an initial counter under this bylaw is delayed until the following academic year shall be counted against the initial limit the following academic year, regardless of whether the student-athlete reports for participation or attends the institution in that academic year.
15.5.5.4 Exceptions
15.5.5.4.1 Voluntary Withdrawal. An institution may replace a counter who voluntarily withdraws from the football team by providing the financial aid to another student who already has enrolled in the institution and is a member of the football squad. For this replacement to occur, the counter must withdraw prior to the first day of classes or before the first game of the season, whichever is earlier, and provide the institution with a signed statement releasing the institution from its obligation to provide institutional financial aid and verifying the voluntary nature of the withdrawal. The institution may immediately (i.e., beginning with the fall term) award the financial aid to a student-athlete who has been a member of the team for at least one academic year and has not previously received athletically related financial aid. A student-athlete who has not been a member of the team for at least one academic year may not receive the financial aid during the fall term, but may receive it in a subsequent term (e.g., spring semester, winter quarter). (Revised: 4/28/05, effective 8/1/05)
