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NCAA football oversight committee considering eliminating or moving Early Signing Period
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There have been exploratory conversations with the NCAA’s football oversight committee recently about changing the early signing period for recruiting.
As the coaching carousel spins up this winter in a way it hasn’t at any point before, many have expressed concern that the December signing period has played a large part in the number of in-season firings, abrupt departures, and general chaos college football fans have witnessed this cycle.
More digging on this: It is very, very early in the process of discussion on the future of early NSD, per those on both the recruiting subcommittee and Football Oversight.
Nothing formal has been proposed and limited discussions have been had. More talks are expected in January.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 8, 2021
“We sure have more early departures than ever before,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s a lot more talk than I’ve heard in recent years about either getting rid of it altogether or perhaps moving it to after the first of the year. We’ll see how that goes.”
Bowlsby chaired the committee when the early signing period was first instituted in 2017. “We did not do it to accommodate coaches,” he said. But a number of programs have hired and fired this cycle and in recent cycles with the goal in mind of doing exactly that and allowing enough time to salvage recruiting classes.
“I’ve heard people talk about moving it to February and moving another one later,” Bowlsby said. “I’ve heard people talk about doing it maybe right after the national championship game.
“Clearly, things have changed since the early signing date was put in. The transfer portal didn’t exist at the time, and there are things that have changed. At the end, we’re going to have to go back to the reason we put it in place and ask if that’s still a valid reason.”
The signing window opens on Dec. 15 and runs through the 17th.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.