The NCAA has taken plenty of lumps, and rightfully so. From bungled investigations to silly rules, it may say it has the student-athletes' best interests at heart, but it doesn't always practice what it preaches.
In one instance, though, the organization is on the right path, and its member schools' football coaches agree.
The NCAA and those coaches agree there needs to be an early signing day for college football, which would align that sport with many of the others the NCAA sponsors. The organization has suggested June and December signing days to add to that well-known first Wednesday in February. College coaches think adding the third Wednesday in December - which already is the mid-year signing day for junior college transfers - is enough.
That December day is a welcome addition to the calendar and one that likely would be embraced by plenty of prep prospects who would like to finalize their plans as quickly as possible.
National Signing Day in February has gone from hometown ceremonies in front of family and friends to all-day media extravaganzas. Sports networks devote hours upon hours of coverage, and the spectacle has grown as the television cameras have multiplied.
Prospects often like prolonging the suspense, grabbing from a lineup of ball caps the one signifying his college choice. Isaiah Crowell announced he was going to Georgia by bringing a bulldog puppy to his signing ceremony.
Yet not every kid is into that kind of flash or keeping fans on pins and needles all the way up to that final day. Some know where they want to go early and just want to finish the process.
Offensive lineman Alex Locklear signed with Marshall in February 2015. He made up his mind in June 2014. So he had to wait nearly eight months to put pen to paper and sign his name to a letter of intent.
Why did he need to wait so long? Why does any prospect need to wait so long? Sure, the gap between December and February isn't very big, but giving a recruit any more time to relax is worth it.
Verbal commitments early in the process can make headlines, but they aren't binding contracts. So coaches from other teams don't always back off. The nation's top prospects may keep getting recruited all the way up until the day they sign.
Former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden recently told ESPN Radio a story of sleeping in a recruit's bedroom the night before signing day, while the other coaches in line for the kid's services sat out in the front yard. Now, coaches can't become impromptu sleepover buddies anymore, but they can use any other form of legal correspondence until that letter of intent is signed.
If the kid signs it in December, he can ring in the new year without his cell phone ringing off the hook.
Some recruits don't dig drama. Some just want the process done. And maybe, as an ancillary benefit, two signing days might eliminate some of the unnecessary hoopla that has come with one signing day.
For once, the NCAA deserves a tip of the cap.
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.