Deion Sanders, one of the greatest college and professional cornerbacks of all time, has been the focal point of attention for decades, the start of his athletic career to the birth of his coaching career. ‘Coach Prime’ started his coaching career at Prime Prep Academy in 2015, coaching his sons before accepting a head coaching position at Jackson State University, a historically black college in Mississippi. Sanders put not only Jackson State on the map but all HBCUs across the country, giving these schools and players the recognition and limelight that they deserved. After spending one year at Jackson State and turning around that program, Deion inked a head coaching position at the University of Colorado and his sons transferred with him.
The year before Deion was appointed head coach, Colorado finished with a 1-11 record. Now, the Buffaloes are sitting at 3-1 and looking like a competitive top-25 team in the country. However, Deoin’s short time at Colorado has also been special for its level of media attention. There have been countless stories about Deion’s infamous quotes and coaching techniques, his youngest son with Heisman potential at the quarterback position, and his two-way star player Travis Hunter, likely a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
All the hype is good, but the Buffaloes still need to fully live up to it. After starting 3-0, the Buffaloes were demolished by Oregon 42-6 last week. This coming weekend they will play 8th-ranked USC, another test of where Deion’s team is at.
Deoin’s time at Colorado has been bringing more attention to college football. Even when they were blown out 42-6, the average viewership of the Colorado-Oregon game was 10.4 million. To compare, take the Ohio State and Notre Dame game the same weekend: a nailbiter which went down to the wire between two juggernauts. That game’s average viewership was 10.5 million, making it the most-watched regular season college football game in America in thirty years. Even in a blowout from start to finish, Colorado was averaging nearly the same number of viewers. This shows how much of an effect Deion has had on the college landscape.
Not only is this good for Deion’s team, it is also good for the University of Colorado community as a whole. Local businesses are thriving as people flock to Boulder to go see the Buffaloes play on gameday. Chris Heinritz, co-owner of one of the oldest restaurants in Boulder, The Sink, told NPR that the restaurant hasn’t been this busy in three decades. Locals are seeing the benefits of the national attention.
Deion and the Buffs are leading the way in the new age of college football, aided by the introduction of Name Image Likeness (NIL) into the college landscape, Deion is not like other coaches: he is flashy, cool, and always him no matter what. Back in his playing days, he was the same way and brought the spotlight to athletes being humans and showing their personality. Now he is doing the same as Colorado and giving his players a path to expressing themselves while potentially developing the path to greatness. That path involves living up to the hype. While Colorado has some work to do, Deion has his players on the right track.
“Deion Sanders (17952279314)” by Erik Drost is licensed under CC BY 2.0.