Unlike Headcount sports scholarships, in equivalency sports, there is no restriction on how many athletes can be on scholarship, but there is a limit on the number of scholarships a team can have.
A team has a limit on the number of scholarships it can have but not in terms of the number of athletes. For example, let's say a team has 36 athletes on scholarships and 17 scholarships. Instead of having 17 athletes on scholarships and 17 walk-ons, the coaches have the possibility to devide thescholarships and all athletes could receive half of it. In reality, it is a bit more complicated than the example shown here, but it illustrates how equivalency sports sponsorships work and highlights the point that athletes are on partial scholarships.
Here is a list of equivalency sports: