At the same time, teams prepare for a bowl game.
How did we get here?
It started with Early Signing Day, which was introduced in the 2017-18 cycle.
The thought was simple enough.
Other undecided kids would have the original date to fall back on.
No harm, no foul.
But in practicality, ESD became the de facto signing day within a year.
Therefore, all ESD did was essentially move signing dayINTOthe CFB bowl season.
Next, theTransfer Portalwas introduced in October of 2018.
But things got messy quickly when the NCAA lifted thetransfer loss-of-eligibilityyear in 2021.
But this rule, multiplied by the portal, led to a feeling of free agency.
Overachievers at mid-majors could transfer up to the Power 5 contenders that overlooked them out of HS.
The 5-star LB who wasnt getting reps could go across the conference to play somewhere else.
Even high-end Power 5 contributors could transfer to other high-end Power 5 schools.
Up the ladder, down the ladder, across the ladder, it didnt matter.
Thats right, right in the middle of Bowl/Playoff Season.
Finally, college athletes could make money off their name, take ad deals, etc.
This is a no-brainer that should have been in place years ago.
Shit, if it was, we wouldnt have waited 10+ years between CFB video games.
(Thank god that national nightmare is over in July.)
But again, the purity behind the spirit of this rule lasted about 6 minutes.
And the better-ran, deeper-pocketed collectives immediately started seeing recruiting wins.
Immediately, all the under-the-table stuff that programs accused each other of was above board.
And I have no sympathy for the coaches or programs.
Every player should get every penny they can.
But the sport as a whole is worse off for it.
Player-poaching and recruit buying have gone crazy.
This means you basically have two free transfers per player (in most cases.)
Also, you have afree COVID-year of eligibilitymixed in from the 2020 season.
Anyone enrolled during 2020 gets an untaxed 5th year to the ball.
The Fallout
Each of these factors has led to the mess were in today.
Can we grab someone to replace them in the portal?
All this happens from the moment the conference’s season ends and runs through the National Championship!
Think about the NFL for a minute.
They have their regular season end, and Black Monday follows with all the coach firings.
Then, things are mostly quiet through the Playoffs and Super Bowl.
Things have time to breathe.
There is build-up and momentum for each event.
All of those things are happening DURING THE FUCKING POST-SEASON!
And it will only be weirder next year when twelve teams are in the playoffs instead of four.
That makes zero sense heading into the biggest game of your season.
How do we fix it?
Short answer: I dont fucking know.
Are there issues with it?
Oh, Im sure.
But is it better than the shit we have now?
The calendar is a few weeks longer for already overworked coaches.
Early enrollees basically are gone - or severely hampered - back to the pre-ESD era.
Teams making deeper playoff runs have an even more compressed timeline to get ducks in a row.
But all those things are manageable.
Nothing will be perfect.
But as someone who loves college football, things cannot stay as is.
NIL and pay-for-play arent going away.
Transfer penalties arent going away.
(If anything, they are going to get morelenient.)
But all that is fine if you give each event its own space.
Take a page from the NFLs playbook and make each stage feel special.
Now, its time to get off my soapbox and go back to losing money on low-tier bowl games.
Sincerely,
A College Football Fan
