College sports leaders have spent more than a year reviewing the calendar, and where everything fits in it, to best accommodate the oft-conflicting pursuits of athletic excellence, academic credibility, athlete well-being and piles of cash. It’s a well-meaning endeavor, but it’s missing one obvious fix: Get rid of the December football signing period.
It is horribly positioned amid a glut of other football-related happenings. Hirings, firings, bowl games, the College Football Playoff and the opening of the transfer portal all are blockbuster December events—oh, and all those holidays. Why add another log to the inferno? Coach, administrator and, yes, media bandwidth is close to maxed out, and the easiest way to alleviate that is to move the most movable element.
As we have discussed on the College Football Enquirer podcast, there is nothing sacred about the five-year-old December signing period. Even the more traditional February date could and should be flexed. Give everyone some time to breathe, and this process could all be much better.
