INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The NCAA endorsed a football recruiting rules overhaul on Friday that will allow high school football players to sign with colleges as early as December and put a two-year waiting period on Bowl Subdivision teams from hiring people close to a recruit.
If the package is approved by the Board of Governors on April 26, the signing period change would take effect Aug. 1. The Collegiate Commissioners Association would need to change the dates, a move expected to happen in June. The other significant change to the recruiting calendar would allow recruits to make official visits between April and June of their junior year in high school.
The Division I Council also backed a measure to eliminate two-a-day practices that would take effect immediately if approved.
“Today’s adoption of the football legislation marks the most significant progress in recent years to improve the football environment and culture for current and prospective student-athletes and coaches,” committee chairman Jim Phillips said in a statement. Phillips is Northwestern’s vice president for athletics and recreation.
Not all of the proposals passed, including a push for a June signing period.