Jim Harbaugh was moments away from landing the nation’s No. 1 recruit, but he was forced to choke back the urge to loudly crow about his newfound bounty across the entire state of Michigan.

First he needed to hear the horrendous chirping of a fax machine ringing to life in the University of Michigan offices, unfurling the official signed letter-of-intent from Paramus Catholic (N.J.) defensive tackle Rashan Gary.

A similar, albeit less dramatic, scene played out throughout the country on National Signing Day as college football coaches entrusted the futures of their programs – and, in many cases,  their jobs – to an antiquated piece of technology, the fax machine.

It’s so 1980s.

The time is now to join the rest of society in the new century and ditch fax machines as the primary form of communication on National Signing Day. Fax machines are not long for this world and will eventually succumb to the same fate as smoke signals, carrier pigeons and floppy disks as official means of transferring data.

How frustrating are fax machines on a scale of one-to-“Office Space?” Just ask University of Houston head coach Tom Herman and his staff.

Here are five better methods than fax machines for recruits and programs to communicate on National Signing Day:

EMAIL

This is the most obvious one. Switching from fax to email makes so much sense that it’s painful. If we need to make it more official to avoid any kind of fraud, perhaps the NCAA could provide sanctioned email accounts to top-flight recruits to use solely on National Signing Day. Email is more efficient, cleaner and quicker. Plus, a PDF with digital signature options are the future and, for lack of a better term, cool. Just don’t accidentally hit “reply all” and commit to every team in the country.

CLOUD

We’re living with our heads in a cloud-based culture these days. The NCAA and its member schools can set up a cloud data system and manage the influx of letters-of-intent all in one database. Why not add an element of entertainment to it and make it a read-only document for those who want to watch recruits’ paperwork arrive in real-time, if you’re into that kind of thing.

CELL PHONE

Just about anything can be done via a cellphone these days. Next year’s No. 1 recruit should fill out his letter-of-intent and scan it into a Quick Response Code — you know that square dealie that your cell phone can read. Then on National Signing Day, release the QR — and subsequently your college choice — to anyone with a cellphone. Film every contending school’s reaction and/or scramble to download a QR Code reader app.

ONLINE FILE-TRANSPORTING COMPANIES

There are companies that will actually transfer large documents for you and do it for free. Companies such as MyFax and WeTransfer offer sharing services that are so simple even someone with a low Wonderlic score can figure out how to do it. Shoot, at the very least, just go to Staples. They’ll be able to show you a better way than faxing.

GOOGLE HANGOUT

We get it. Recruits and the (winning) schools enjoy the spectacle of National Signing Day. Often times, however, the announcement and physical signing of the papers don’t occur at the same time. Case in point, the aforementioned Rashan Gary. The No. 1 pick announced his decision live on the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn., before driving 100 miles back to New Jersey to ink his papers — hence Harbaugh’s apprehension. The solution could be Google Hangout. Why not combine video technology with the ability to share files? Everyone wins. Unless you count the 127 other teams that lost out on the recruit.