FAYETTEVILLE - University of Arkansas coaches have a little axiom about recruiting. Get recruits on campus, they say, and the Razorbacks have a great shot at signing them.

With football Coach Bobby Petrino already being sold on that logic in his first few months on campus, his "nay" vote on a proposal by SEC football coaches to ask the conference to sponsor NCAA legislation that would establish a one-day early signing period was a given.

SEC coaches voted 9-3 at the league's spring meetings in Destin, Fla., last week to push the legislation, but conference presidents and chancellors shot it down by a unanimous vote.

"At least 50 percent of our athletes come from out of the state," Petrino said. "Some of the schools that were in favor of it, they have more Division I players from within the boundaries of their state.

" I didn't feel like it was a good deal for us. I thought we needed time to get players here on our campus."

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Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said SEC athletic directors discussed the issue in Destin but did not take a formal vote on it.

"My perspective is I understand both sides of it," Long said. "I understand why coaches would like to get those student-athletes that they believe are committed to them rock-solid, always wanted to be a Razorback, signed.

" I can agree with that, and I think most everybody around the table would agree with that. What becomes difficult is the timing. One part of the argument is, how can you sign a kid who hasn't even had a chance to be on your campus officially ?"

Long also questioned how an early signing date might ramp up the intensity of recruiting during the football season and wondered what the unintended consequences of the rule could be.

"Think about the team that's not having a very good year," Long said. "This year's a bust, we've got to go, we've got to recruit and go get those early commits, and that just turns up the heat everywhere, you know ? I'm not sure that's good for us."

News reports said Petrino, Florida Coach Urban Meyer and South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier were coaches who opposed the early signing date, which would have been the Monday before Dec. 1.

The one-day period would have likely focused on slamdunk signees, but one of the stipulations on the rule would have made it limited to studentathletes who had not made an official visit to campus, nor had they been visited in-home by coaches.

"So basically you didn't spend any money on them, and if [a prospect ] wanted to sign a national letter he could," Petrino said. "I thought that put us at a disadvantage. Then, the other thing, they earn the right to go visit and see other schools and go through the recruiting process."

Alabama Coach Nick Saban has been a longtime proponent of an early signing date.

"I'm for it, but all coaches are paranoid," Saban told reporters in Destin. "They'll have to go back and digest this and figure out if this is an advantage for this school or that school."

Former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt, now in his first season at Ole Miss, also supported the push for legislation.

"If a kid knows what he wants to do, then let him sign early," Nutt told the Commercial-Appeal of Memphis. "You don't want to add a visit. You don't want to add contacts. When he signs, it's one less worry. He's on the dotted line and he's done, instead of trying to guard the chicken and make sure nobody steals the eggs."

Just because the SEC is not pushing the legislation doesn't mean it won't be proposed by another conference and eventually adopted. A survey conducted by the American College Football Coaches Association showed that 70 percent of head coaches favor an early signing period.

Petrino pointed out a third reason why he opposed the legislation.

"I felt it was kind of hypocritical because a lot of people were saying it wasn't fair to the head coaches when they were taken off the road in spring recruiting because, 'I'm making decisions on young men and I'm not getting to know them well enough.' Now, all of a sudden, you want an early signing period ? How does that balance out ?"

Petrino was happy when he heard the proposal had been nixed at the SEC's executive level.

"I don't think it's the right thing for us," he said. "I don't think it's the right thing for the young men who are being recruited. I didn't think it had a chance to get approved throughout the country."