The NCAA is trying to keep up with the rapidly changing college football landscape. Changes have been rumored, but nothing has been made official until now. As the transfer portal becomes a more prevalent aspect of college football, programs are demanding changes to make things easier in team building. On Wednesday, the NCAA proposed an updated recruiting calendar that adds an additional signing period.
NCAA Proposes Updated Recruiting Calendar
🚨NEW🚨 NCAA Football officials are meeting this week to discuss 3 signing periods, per ESPN.
• Last Wednesday in June
• Wednesday after regular season
• First Wednesday in FebruaryRead: https://t.co/NIoUVsje9X pic.twitter.com/AC889iyAWl
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) February 28, 2024
The proposed signing periods would be as follows: The last Wednesday in June, the Wednesday following the regular season, and the first Wednesday in February. It is meant to alleviate some of the calendar constraints put on coaches, especially near the end of the season. At the end of the year, coaches are preparing for bowl games and now dealing with the transfer portal. Trying to juggle recruiting is a lot to ask. The additional period will take some of the pressure off.
Moving Ahead Of Transfer Portal Season
Another aspect of this change is the moving of the first early signing period to before the transfer portal opens. Per The Athletic, this was a change many coaches were calling for. Big Sky’s commissioner Tom Wistrcill had this to say to the publication.
“The biggest reason we’re doing this is to clear up the football recruiting calendar so the signing period and the transfer portal don’t overlap. The feedback we’ve received from all coaches is that December is a mess. Especially with the expansion of the CFP coming next year, that just creates more chaos in December. This should help.”
Programs will now know where their recruiting classes stand before the transfer portal opens. This will help programs recruit players more effectively as they will know exactly what the needs of the team are.
This updated recruiting calendar will be good for coaches and teams. Everyone knew things needed to change, and the NCAA is finally making it happen.