The college football calendar needs to be changed. You hear it all the time from fans to media experts. But yet, no one has a good solution, and honestly, there isn’t one. But, we can lessen the impact by not stuffing everything into four weeks of December.
I have a separate idea and article on the portal coming soon that should garner an interesting response, but for now, here’s what we can do to change this chaos.
1. Move the early signing period to June
I originally said August back in the mid-2000s when everyone was clamoring for an early period, but June is even better, allowing everyone to relax during the dead period of the summer and for kids to focus on their senior season and prepare for either early enrollment or enrollment the following summer.
I’m all for an early signing period, but the majority of players have made up their minds by the time their senior season begins, and with official visits allowed in the spring, June works. What doesn’t work is five weeks before the traditional February date. Sign in June or wait until that one day in February. 85% of high school recruiting will be done by the time college football kicks off, saving time for college coaches to focus on other things like the portal, roster retention, and winning games.
This will also lead to smarter roster management and less of a shortfall of scholarships. It also makes for a less hectic summer for all. I know that doesn’t matter to fans, but the quality of life for college football coaches needs to be improved, or we will lose more and more to the NFL.
2. Allow players to enter the portal 365 days a year
This is how it was initially, and it was much more manageable. Does this help? Not a ton, and like I said, I have my own portal solution coming soon, but a 30 day window in December just makes an unmanageable process even less so.
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Some want shorter windows, but that’s impossible to manage. I know a 365 approach could be rough for coaches who are trying to build culture, but this rush to the portal isn’t good. It makes kids jump too soon or feel pressured, it makes colleges reach on kids, and it just stresses the entire process.
Allowing portal entries at any time also eliminates the 30-day window for coaches being fired or leaving. If a kid goes in the day after his coach is fired (or retires), great, he’s recruitable. If he goes in on October 25th, great, he’s recruitable. July 25th? March 3rd? You get it. It spreads out the process, making it less hectic and leading to fewer mistakes. 2,000 kids going in over a couple of weeks is dumb and unmanageable.
https://twitter.com/farrellportal/status/1752014334438330459
3. Get rid of windows
Say a kid signs in June, and his head coach leaves or is fired. Boom, he’s out of his NIL and commitment. No window, no nothing. He’s free to pursue another school and can enroll for the spring or sign in February. Windows are dumb and just cause issues. I know, I know some coaches want shorter windows, and I’ve addressed that. It’s just not manageable. The 365 approach to the portal eliminates windows, and we shouldn’t have them for recruiting either. We need to make things as cut and dry as possible — simplicity is our goal, not complexity.
That’s it. I know you’re waiting for six more bullet points, right? Nope.
College football recruiting and the portal won’t be fixed anytime soon. That’s the way of the world. But two simple changes could alleviate a lot of this crap. High school recruiting will be more spread out, portal recruiting will be more spread out, and we won’t have so much chaos stuffed into a tiny window.
The end.
