College football's December signing day has been moved.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the NCAA’s Collegiate Commissioners Association has voted to move up the December early signing period to the Wednesday before conference championship games. In 2024, that date would be Dec. 4.
The Commissioners did vote today to move up the winter Signing Day, per ESPN source. That day will now come in early December before portal opens. https://t.co/7P17K6hdWe
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 6, 2024
Last week, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee proposed changes that would result in three signing periods: The last Wednesday in June, the Wednesday before conference championship games in December and the first Wednesday in February.
While officials voted to move the December Early Signing Period, it chose to push back its vote to add a third signing period in the summer to the college football recruiting calendar. The officials plan to make that decision during an in-person meeting in June.
Last month, Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported that the December early signing period was expected to be moved up ahead of conference championship games and the opening of the transfer portal. Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill, who also serves as the chairman of the CCA’s National Letter of Intent subcommittee, told Auerbach that there had been “advanced discussions” about the move.
By moving the early signing period up, coaches can now lock in their early signees before the transfer portal window opens following the regular season.
“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,” Wistrcill told Auerbach. “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.”
Mark Pantoni isn't sure it will, however. When the Ohio State general manager learned last week that the NCAA could move the December Early Signing Period to the Wednesday before conference title games, he voiced his disapproval on X.
Been pushing for last week of June signing day for years!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) February 28, 2024
Signing day during conference championship week = bad idea https://t.co/zYSaK4oWBw
When he met with reporters in February 2023, Pantoni suggested a signing period in the summer. He explained that it would make things easier for both athletes and coaches.
“Something that I've talked to my colleagues about is potentially like a July 1 signing day,” Pantoni said. “It just to me makes sense that you have all these official visits coming into the month of June, and if they're ready to make the decisions then, why can't they just go ahead and sign? At least that clears out another potential group of guys as well.”
