TAT: National Signing Day FAQ

This article originally appeared on February 4, 2014 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

The first Wednesday in February is a big day in college football.

The BCS National Championship was a month ago and spring practice is still a couple months away, but fans across the country will be transfixed to their televisions and computers, waiting to see where high school kids decide to attend college.

While college football has grown into one of the most popular sports in the country, some fans don’t completely understand how National Signing Day works. Here are a few frequently asked questions about it.

1. Who’s signing?

Most high school athletes that continue their career in the NCAA will most likely sign a national letter of intent (NLI) at some point. Each sport has at least one designated signing day, while most have two: an early signing day and a regular signing day.

The first Wednesday in February is the regular signing day for football.

2. What does it mean to sign?

When an athlete signs an NLI, he essentially becomes a member of the institution he signs with. After signing, an athlete can no longer be recruited by other schools.

As long as a player hasn’t signed an NLI, he can change his mind about where he wants to go to college. A verbal commitment is just that: a verbal commitment. A commitment doesn’t become binding until the athlete signs his name on an NLI.

Also, once an athlete signs, coaches can legally talk about them in public. For example, Bret Bielema couldn’t talk about Alex Collins to the media last year until Collins signed his NLI.

A common misconception is that an NLI is required. However, there is no rule that schools and student-athletes must sign an NLI; it is completely voluntary.

3. Do they really have to fax the NLI?

Yes. Believe it or not, even with all of the technology available in today’s world, college football still uses the fax machine.

Players can mail their NLI to the university they’re signing with, but they often chose to fax them because college coaches want to receive them immediately.

This usually isn’t a problem because most high schools have a fax machine, but under certain circumstances, problems can arise.

In 2011, nearly two feet of snow fell in Northwest Arkansas, causing most high schools to close for several days, including National Signing Day. Players that were supposed to sign their NLIs weren’t able to get to their high schools and fax them to their colleges.

This makes college coaches nervous, because as long as players haven’t faxed their NLI, they can change their mind.

Arkansas fans got a taste of this last year when Collins’ mother reportedly stole his NLI and he wasn’t able to sign it and fax it to Bielema for several hours. As the hours passed, there was worry that Collins would decide to sign elsewhere.

4. Where do they sign?

Most players have a ceremony at their high school to sign their NLI. They are usually accompanied by family members, friends, classmates, coaches and teachers.

If an athlete is a highly sought after recruit and has multiple offers, he can choose to make his decision during the ceremony. The most common way to do this is by having a hat from each of the schools he is choosing from, then putting on the hat of the school he ultimately chooses.