Roster limits, expanded scholarships, and revenue sharing, which were implemented under the recently approved House settlement, are creating a new landscape across college sports. That landscape isn’t the same in every sport or even in the same sport at different schools. It’s something Arizona volleyball head coach Rita Stubbs is learning to navigate.
Volleyball is not one of the sports that will get revenue sharing at Arizona. Public information indicates that only football, men’s basketball, baseball, women’s basketball, and softball will be included in that. However, the expansion of scholarships cuts into the $20.5 million in revenue sharing that schools can distribute each year.
“In that sense, we’re part of it,” Stubbs said.
The reason for that has to do with what counts against the so-called cap agreed to under the settlement. That cap will change every three years based on a formula that takes specific kinds of revenue into account. Up to $2.5 million of so-called “Alston money” and $2.5 million of any scholarships above what was allowed in 2024-25 count against that cap. That means that any team receiving increased scholarships is getting a cut of that $20.5 million.
For Arizona volleyball, that means an additional 2.75 scholarships over the 12 that were allowed prior to the House settlement. Those 14.75 scholarships can be distributed among as many as 18 players at the coaches’ discretion.
It’s a new world for coaches of what were once headcount sports, though. In the past, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, and women’s tennis all got full scholarships. Coaches didn’t have to decide who got what. They either offered a scholarship or they didn’t.
Stubbs and her fellow headcount coaches have been trying to learn the ropes from coaches of what were once called equivalency sports.
“I went over and sat with baseball a long time,” Stubbs said. “It’s kind of cool the way it works, because I can give what I want to give.”
However, the other $15.5 million that is set aside for what the settlement calls “name, image, and likeness” funds will certainly help teams that are included in that. Most of that money will go to football and men’s basketball across the country. Schools are fairly universal in setting some aside for women’s basketball.
Who else gets that “NIL” money varies from one institution to another. At Arizona, the only women who will see any of it are softball and women’s basketball players. Based on the new roster limits, this puts the maximum number of women who could benefit at 40 versus up to 154 men. It will likely be fewer, especially for the women, since those two teams rarely carry that many players.
Stubbs knows that some places will be giving part of their “NIL” money to women’s volleyball players. With outside NIL funds still allowed in addition to the school-based funds, the Wildcats will likely be at an even bigger disadvantage in most women’s sports. That is especially true in volleyball, which attracts a lot of attention across the Midwest.
For Stubbs, the only way forward is to try to find recruits who still value relationships over transactions. She has had both successes and failures over the past few months in that regard.
The Wildcats needed to replace lost production and experience at both opposite and middle this offseason. It was a no-go at middle blocker, so the Wildcats will go with three instead of the four that Stubbs prefers.
“We went in the portal and we tried to get someone,” Stubbs said. “We didn’t, and that’s fine. I tend not to dwell on what we don’t have. Just make it better.”
Stubbs was able to get a middle blocker for next year with a late 2026 commit, though. Marina Vosloo committed to the Wildcats on June 15. The 6-foot middle plays club for Wave in the San Diego area and prep for Torrey Pines High School. She played 35 sets her junior year with 26 total blocks (17 solo). She had 1.5 kills per set on a .346 hitting percentage.
She finally got her opposite when former UCF pin Britt Carlson signed with the Wildcats two weeks ago. While she still has two years left, the 6-foot-4 right side will be at her third school for the 2025 season. She already has a degree from UCF.
The native of Woodbury, Minn. has been on Arizona’s radar since before Stubbs took over as head coach.
“We recruited her in high school,” Stubbs said. “Initially, she was committed to Texas A&M, but then COVID happened. She ended up at Washington State.”
Stubbs said that Carlson reached out to the Wildcats when she decided to leave WSU after the 2022 season, but Arizona didn’t have a scholarship available. This time, it worked for both sides.
The head coach followed up that signing with her first commitment from the 2027 class. That group was able to start committing on June 15. Arizona got its setter of the future within days.
Tinsley Welker will come to Arizona from the Houston area. She plays club for Houston Skyline and prep for Fort Bend Austin High School. Prep Dig has her as the No. 8 player in the state of Texas and the No. 4 setter. Both Prep Volleyball and VB Adrenaline have regularly included her in their articles about the top setters during this year’s club tournaments.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics