AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – The ACC spring meetings kicked into high gear Tuesday morning, with the conference’s athletics directors, football coaches, men’s and women’s basketball coaches, and faculty representatives taking part in daylong committee meetings.
FSU football coach Jimbo Fisher is taking his turn as chair of the football committee this year, and he spoke with Warchant and other reporters following Tuesday’s lengthy session. The committees will meet again on Wednesday, and any final decisions or votes will be made later Wednesday or on Thursday.
Of the topics discussed by the football coaches on Tuesday, several related to recent or proposed NCAA rules changes and officiating. Here’s a look at three major areas that drew spirited discussion from the coaches.
Frustrations with new recruiting calendar
Fisher has long been a proponent of an early signing period for college football, but he is not a fan of the one recently passed by the NCAA, which will allow prospects to sign on Dec. 20-22 instead of waiting until the first Tuesday in February.
“I was never for that,” Fisher said after Tuesday’s session. “I always wanted it earlier, to take a lot of pressure off the kids and coaches.”
What Fisher advocated was a summer signing period, which would allow players to focus on their senior seasons of high school without being bothered with recruiting.
By creating an extra signing period in December, Fisher said, the NCAA didn’t do much to relieve the stress on players, but they did create a potentially nightmarish scenario for college coaches. For schools that are preparing for bowl games -- or the College Football Playoff -- in December, their assistant coaches will be flying out of town each evening to visit recruits and then flying back the next day to conduct bowl practices.
“You’re going to be doing that for 2 ½, 3 weeks,” Fisher said.
Several ACC coaches also spoke out against the NCAA’s new rule allowing prospects to take official visits in April, May and June, because of the strain it will place on coaches.
