Colorado HC Deion Sanders – Source: Ryan Kang / Getty
Colorado and Deion Sanders reportedly admitted to 11 minor NCAA violations involving recruits.
Coach Prime’s Deion Sanders’s first year as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes has officially wrapped and his authentic swagger and new-age recruiting style re-energized a program that only saw one win in the previous year.
Coach Prime instantly made Colorado football must-see TV and sold out every ticket package imaginable but of course, when you’re moving as quickly as the team did throughout the season, mistakes are made along the way.
According to Sports Illustrated, Colorado self-reported 11 minor NCAA violations during their first year under Coach Prime.
Decemeber 2022- an image ended up on social media from Sanders and company showing a spreadsheet of potential recuits. The post didn’t stay up long but the violation had already occured.
After the intial Dec. violation Colorado obtained a transcipt for a recruit that hadn’t begun the Transer Porrtal process.
Januaray 2023- a harmless video showcasing voluntary team workouts was posted by Deion on social media before he deleted it 20 minutes later, likely realizing it was a violaton.
January 2023- cornerback Cormani McClain was featured in a picture “while wearing a uniform on the field, lined up across a coaching staff member (Sanders),” violating a ban on “gameday simulations.
A second violation from the same incident happened when a website shared the pictures on social media. Cormani is still on the Buffaloes roaster as we speak.
May 2023- Players who were not in the transfer portal attended a Colorado Spring Camp for active transfers and high school recruits which earned Prime a two-week recruiting ban the following month.
Players who were not active members of the transfer portal attended a Colorado camp open to high school and transfer recruits last May. The violation led to a two-week recruiting ban in June.
May 2023- Coach Prime added recruit Aaron Butler, to his Instagram Live which later led to him committing to Colorado before switching to Texas
May 2023- Coach Hart posted a picture on social media with a recruit well before the “in-person contact” period began.
August 2023- the team allowed an intern to lead a Yoga session which violated NCAA staffing limits as the intern isn’t one of their declared strength and conditioning coaches.
September 2023- During the Buffaloes’ game against USC a recruit gained access to premium seating while on an unofficial visit which isn’t allowed.
October 2023 – 2028 recruit and the son of a former Colorado Player Matt McChesney joined the pregame locker room speech and then ran onto the field with the team before its game against Stanford.
When you bring nationwide attention to your school’s program you should always expect the NCAA to pay extra attention. Social media has been a powerful tool for Coach Prime at Colorado but has also caused many issues. Self-reporting violations is the best path forward and most experts do not expect any harsh punishment to come from the violations. In year one of the “Prime Era” the team ended with a record of 4-8 and have already flipped their roaster this off-season thanks to the Transfer portal.
Hopefully Prime grabbed some protection for Shedeur Sanders heading into the 2024 season.
