The NCAA D1 Council announced Friday morning they had voted to approve a proposed early signing period for college football.
DI Council allows early football signing period and coaches to recruit at camps and clinics, but restricts when and where they can occur. pic.twitter.com/tmL8aZcciB
— NCAA (@NCAA) April 14, 2017
As of now, there is only a spring(ish) signing period; you might know it, as it’s when various schools stream live feeds of a fax machine so fans can watch commits send in their letters of intent. Truly the spirit of amateurism.
SB Nation’s recruiting savant, Bud Elliott, broke down the details:
The NCAA’s Division I Council voted to approve a propsal that would allow an early college football National Signing Day rule Friday, setting up the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) to give final approval in June.
The existing date of the first Wednesday in February will remain, but to it will be added a date right before Christmas, coinciding with the traditional junior college signing date. In 2016, that would have meant Dec. 14, but in 2017, will be Dec. 20. The new signing window would last for three days.
Offering an earlier period makes a lot of sense, for both the schools and the prospects. For high school recruits, being recruited can be a chore. Various letters, texts, phone calls, visits, and more take up a lot of time and attention, and there have to be a wide array who truly have their mind made up and want to sign prior to when they’re currently allowed.
They can commit verbally, but that won’t stop other teams from continuing to contact them. And if you think about it, if you went to college, when did you decide where you wanted to go? There’s a decent chance it was early in your senior year of high school. Of course, it’s not all great news for players; coaches tend to leave jobs before February, but after December, and that includes assistants and other key staff members.
If a player signs in December and their coach leaves or is asked to leave after that, they could be bound to play for someone they’ve never even spoken to. Or, worse, they could have that offer rescinded after the fact, which could leave them even further behind, since other schools may have dropped them off their lists entirely after they signed.
But, more options are never really a bad thing; there’s nothing forcing a prospect to sign, and as long as they’re aware of the possibilities, this generally seems like a favorable move. It’s not a done deal yet, though:
I spoke with someone from the NCAA re: the early signing period tweet. That tweet does not mean an early signing period is definitely (cont)
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 14, 2017
happening. That needs to be voted on by the commissioners. The NCAA tweet means the council is approving the change to the recruiting (cont)
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 14, 2017
calendar, not approving an early signing period. Only the CCA can create the actual signing period in December
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 14, 2017
So, essentially, there is no ruling yet on an early signing period, just allowing it to potentially happen.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 14, 2017
It might still be up in the air, but the first hurdle has been cleared, and it’s reasonable to expect that if the proposal had enough support to pass the NCAA vote, it will be implemented by the CCA as well.