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NCAA mulling possible end of Early Signing Period in college football
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The Early Signing Period in college football hasn’t been around for long, but the NCAA could be taking the first steps toward its elimination in favor of only having the traditional signing period in February.
As 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello writes, that’s being talked about among the group’s Oversight Committee. However, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who chairs the committee, said at the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas on Wednesday that the launch of the transfer portal in 2019, along with the timing of coaching changes across the sport, has forced the NCAA to rethink whether the Early Signing Period is still viable.
“We (started the ESP) to accommodate the students and their families,” Bowlsby said. “That’s going to be another process the Football Oversight (Committee) will have to go back and talk to the kids and the families and see if they want it to stay.”
Meanwhile, Greg Sankey, long an opponent of the ESP, cast doubt as to whether the period would be done away with now that it’s been in effect for the last several years.
“We may have let the toothpaste out of the tube and it won’t go back,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
