ACC coaches back early signing day
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - Among topics of discussion among coaches and athletic directors at the ACC spring meetings: An early signing period for football, stipends for cost of attendance and improving strength of scheduling for the sake of the College Football Playoff.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said there was strong support among coaches to back a proposal from the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which oversees the national letter of intent program, to add an early signing period in mid-December. Football only has one signing period, beginning the first Wednesday of February, when senior prospects can make their commitments official. Proponents of an early signing period believe it could aid the sport by allowing prospects to end the recruiting frenzy earlier and also by reducing the time that coaches spend fending off rivals from poaching players committed to their schools.
“As a conference, we liked August better, but if (December) is the only thing that we can vote on, we’d rather have that than nothing,” Johnson said.
The commissioners association will vote on the issue in June. It would be enacted for the coming academic year.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
