Changes are being proposed for college football’s primary signing days, including both a summer and December signing period, as well as likely changes to the NCAA Transfer Portal window’s post-season timeframe.
Numerous sources in recent weeks have told FootballScoop that college football could be moving to adopt a June signing period, make the entire month of July a dead period and also advance the December signing period from that month’s third Wednesday to its first.
Under that calendar in 2024, the early signing period in December would open Dec. 4 and run through Friday, Dec. 6, before the Transfer Portal would be opened three days later on Monday, Dec. 9.
The move there is twofold: an earlier signing period is believed to be an element that provides high school prospects an opportunity to sign before transfers flood into the Portal; it’s also alleviating the potential of programs trying to formulate signing classes Dec. 18 with the all-new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff beginning following the 2024 regular season on Friday, Dec. 20.
There is a single CFP contest that Friday and three additional opening-round games Saturday, Dec. 21.
“We as a conference are opposing a June signing day, but it sounds like there’s a really good chance for a June signing day,” said a football operations director from a multi-time CFP participant. “One thing that seems to be happening imminently is a dead period for the entire month of July.”
Presently, the NCAA calendar calls for a dead period from June 24 through July 24.
Under the proposal for the all-new June signing opportunity, the new period would take effect for the 2026 signing class and open on June 25, 2025, for a three-day window. The calendar would call for June 22-30 to become an NCAA dead period, with the signing window opened June 25-26-27.
The traditional signing day on the first Wednesday in February, in this case Feb. 5, 2025, for the ’25 signing class would not change.
But the June signing period proposal is the one with the potential to carry the most dynamic ramifications.
Sources, including coaches, assistant coaches, general managers and directors of football operations from all four power conferences, indicated to FootballScoop that they expected to see the June signing period adopted upon the measure’s final vote, scheduled to take place next month. The Collegiate Commissioners Association previously voted in March to endorse the proposed changes to the December signing period, which also was reported by ESPN.
An ACC coordinator told FootballScoop over the weekend, “June 2025 signing day” when asked what changes he/his program expected.
General managers from two additional former College Football Playoff participants and a third from a prominent program switching conference affiliations this fall also indicated they expected the June period to be adopted.
“We’ve already been pretty much told that’s coming down the pike,” one said.
Added another, when asked thoughts on the likelihoods that the June signing period and the entire month of July dead period would move forward, “June for sure. July for sure.”
Another power conference GM indicated he was less certain on the June signing period but that he fully expected the December window to be advanced to the opening week of the month.
Two GMs from rival conferences both posed almost the exact same question: If the June signing period is passed and enacted in June 2025 for the 2026 signing class, what will be the stance for student-athletes who sign with a program in June 2025 but then see that program make a head coaching change – either because the coach is fired or gets another opportunity?
“A June signing period is problematic for the coaching carousel,” said a Power 4 Conference GM.
Another GM pointed out that the June signing period would place an extreme time crunch on official visits.
“We would need to have OVs next June lined up for the 7th, 14th and 21st leading into that early signing period. We’d be scheduling OVs out in January, February for next June,” he said. “But remember: kids now can have unlimited official visits, but we get 70 in a calendar year. There would be some overlap.
“I do think that the month of July should be completely dead: No texting, no retweets, no likes, no offers, nothing. It would be a good reset for the kids and also be good for the coaches and staffs.”
The proposed changes to the recruiting calendar would take effect as soon as December, if passed, and not only see that earlier signing period, the delayed opening of the NCAA Transfer Portal winter window but then also impact the allowable recruiting actions for coaches in December.
The month of December would see the evaluation period close Sunday, Dec. 1. The month would then immediately shift to a dead period on Monday, Dec. 2 and remain dead through that entire week, with the signing period open Dec. 4-5-6. There then would be a two-week “quiet period” running from Dec. 9-22, during which time schools would be prohibited from off-campus recruiting but then be allowed to host recruits on campus.
“Quiet means kids can come on your campus, but you can’t leave to visit them,” A GM explained. “The February signing period would still be available if needed and they could official visit (during that two-week period) in December.”
That proposed calendar adjustment then would change the timetable on visits for student-athletes already in college who enter the Portal; on New Year’s Day, the calendar would open for five days but only for those athletes who entered the Transfer Portal with the intention of being a mid-year transfer. There would be no summer transfers or high school kids allowed under the proposal for that five-day period.
Additionally, these proposed changes would result in the annual AFCA Convention being pushed back a week later to begin Jan. 13, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is slated to host the AFCA’s signature event for the second time in three years.