The next wave of college football stars will reportedly be deciding which school they will attend before current players decide where they are moving in the future.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) voted Wednesday to move up winter's early signing period to early December. That means it will happen before the transfer portal opens.

Wednesday wasn't a day of complete action, though, as Thamel noted the CCA chose to push back a vote on the potential of having three signing days until they meet in person in June. Such a format would have signing days in June, November and February.

As for the actual decision to move up the winter signing period, Cody Nagel of 247Sports provided more details on the timing.

The previous period started on the third Wednesday of December, which was in the middle of bowl season and shortly before the College Football Playoff. It was also during the winter transfer portal.

However, the new period will start on Dec. 4, 2024 and run through Dec. 6, 2024. That is three days before the transfer portal opens on Dec. 9.

The window that was in place put even more pressure on coaches and programs attempting to navigate one of the busiest times on the calendar. There were teams this past season that were dealing with bowl or CFP preparation, their own players entering the transfer portal, seeking out transfers of their own and signing their recruiting classes all at the same time.

It made roster management in the current era of college football even more difficult than it already was and surely prompted this change.

Moving the signing period up means coaches can put the finishing touches on their recruiting classes and then focus on the transfer portal. There is also more time in between the early signing period and the start of bowl season and the expanded 12-team CFP.

Transfers will also have a better idea of the rosters of various teams after the signing period before making their decisions on which schools to attend.

While top programs will still be juggling a number of tasks at once, this creates more opportunities for better time and roster management as coaches chase championships and look to build their teams for the following season.