Prime Time Legacy

When Colorado football hit rock bottom, Deion Sanders turned Boulder into the center of the college football universe.

The University of Colorado has had a proud and successful football team for much of its 135-year history, including a national championship in 1990, but its 2022 season capped a seventeen-year stretch in which the team had posted only two winning seasons, relegating the program to irrelevancy. After 2022’s 1-11 record, during which the Buffaloes endured a blow-out nearly every week, the school’s leaders called a “Hail Mary” and offered a huge contract to the flamboyant and garrulous former two-way football wonder Deion Sanders, at the time head coach at Jackson State University. An enigma in the world of college football, in just three years Sanders had taken the Jackson State Tigers from a losing season to back-to-back Southwest Athletic Conference champions.

When Sanders accepted Colorado's offer the impact was immediate. Before even a down was played, CU quickly sold out its Spring 2023 game, which was broadcast live by ESPN. Season tickets sold out by April, and by the end of 2024 the chronically debt-ridden athletic department budget was running a $9 million surplus. Using deft use of the NCAA’s transfer portal, Sanders managed to bring his best players from Jackson State to Colorado, notably his highly talented quarterback son Shadeur. While in his first season with the Buffs the team posted a 4-8 record, the 2024 team improved to 9-4, tied for first place in the Big 12, finished in the top 25 nationally, boasted a Heisman Trophy winner, and graduated two top-10 NFL draft picks. Prime Time Legacy follows Sanders' evolution as a coach, breaks down his time at Colorado, and answers the questions: Can he do it again in 2025? If so, will he be tempted to jump to NFL? Buffaloes' beat writer Brian Howell tells the story through exclusive interviews with CU officials, players, and Coach Prime himself.