DESTIN, Fla. -- The SEC prefers the current recruiting signing period, but with "mounting interest" in an early signing day, the conference recommended it be the Monday after Thanksgiving, SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Wednesday.
SEC coaches and athletic directors discussed the possibility of an early signing period during the league's spring meetings at the Sandestin Hilton.
Slive and SEC executive associate commissioner Greg Sankey said that if there is an early signing period, the SEC prefers it on the Monday after Thanksgiving for one day only.
The Conference Commissioners Association, which governs the signing date, meets in mid-June. The CCA would have to approve an early signing period. Slive admitted he hopes an early signing period is not on the agenda. Earlier this month, the ACC recommended an early signing day be on Aug. 1.
If an early signing period is created, the traditional first Wednesday in February signing day would remain. Under the SEC proposal, the only high school prospects who would sign early would be ones not making official visits.
"There are varying opinions on what an early signing period would be," Slive said. "We would encourage to retain the current model."
Slive said that if there is an early signing day, it will create a "domino effect."
"The first step is to retain the current model, and if there's a debate on an early signing day, we prefer this model [on the Monday after Thanksgiving]," Slive said.
However, LSU coach Les Miles said an early signing period doesn't change "the dynamics of recruitment."
"It doesn't change the recruiting calendar," Miles said. "You're really only after the guys who really want to come to your school. You're not trying to convince them.
"It's an early signing date and an opportunity that does not change the recruiting calendar. It's really the best of both worlds. ... It really is the best thing, it's the easiest thing. It's the most serving for the student-athlete."