Last Saturday's game for the Colorado Buffaloes Football team brought nothing but a demoralizing defeat in Autzen Stadium, as the Buffaloes fell to the Oregon Ducks 42-6. Both teams were undefeated heading into the highly anticipated match-up, but the Ducks took care of business handily knocking off Coach Prime and company. Many people around college football rejoiced due to their deep dislike for Deion Sanders, but like him or not, his impact can’t be ignored.
It seems like everything Sanders touches reaps the rewards, after all, look at Jackson State, his former team. Coach Prime came onto the scene in 2020 to a program that hadn’t been over .500 since 2013 and hadn’t even come close to winning their conference since 2007. In his three-year stint with the program, Sanders managed to not only attain a 27-6 record but also won back-to-back conference titles in 2021 and an undefeated 2022 season. Taking a program from zero to hero the way Sanders did is an amazing feat, but he didn’t stop there.
Fast Forward to the end of 2022, and Sanders, along with other Jackson State Players of his choosing, including his son Shedeur, headed west to Colorado for a Pac-12 coaching opportunity. “I’m comin’ and when I get here it’s gonna [the program] be changed,” were the first words he uttered while addressing his new squad for the first time. It was followed by telling the returning players to “pack their bags” and “jump in that portal” because this wasn’t going to be the same old program and they wanted to make room for players that are “smart” and “tough”.
This was truly going to be the test, coaching against viable competition, and putting his money where his mouth was. Although Colorado didn’t pull out a victory this week, nor were they close, it still is important to reflect on what Sanders has done and is currently doing for the Buffaloes.
Like Jackson State, Colorado was a mess, only winning one game last year. Coach Prime has already managed to win three, and in his first game, he led his team to victory amassing, at the time, the second-ranked TCU Horned Frogs, mind you the same team that made it to the National Championship last year. But winning football games isn’t the only great thing he has done for Colorado.
Buffszone.com said this year's spring game/Deion Sanders’ coaching debut brought 47,277 fans. The previous year's spring game attendance you might ask? 1,900. It’s also worth mentioning that last year the team only averaged 44,722 people over the span of the whole season. For the 2023 season, however, every single home game was completely sold out. But we know this, Deion Sanders has been bringing in crowds since his college days at Florida State, so what happens when we look at his impact from an economic standpoint?
The Boulder Chamber estimated that for their first game alone, the city made 17 million dollars, 70% more than last year's home opener. Ad revenue is also something to pay attention to. The University of Colorado ran a report to find out the ad value of media coverage and determined that the school made 90 million dollars from just the first 3 games of the season. These numbers are real. Coach Prime has not only won more games than last year but has become an economic powerhouse for Colorado.
This Saturday, the Buffaloes (3-1) are set to take on the 8th-ranked USC Trojans (4-0) at home at noon. Colorado desperately needs a bounce-back win, but USC is looking to stay undefeated and make its way into the college football playoff picture. Either way, the "Coach Prime Effect" is real, and the future looks bright for the Colorado program.