Colorado has become Coach Prime University, sort of. Not everyone thinks that’s OK.

BOULDER, Colo. – Shortly before kickoff this year at Colorado home football games, the stadium starts to buzz with various celebrity guests and crew for “Coach Prime” Deion Sanders.

Some wear badges on the sideline in the shape of sunglasses. It’s called a “Prime Pass.” Some lug video equipment up the elevator with shirts that say they are part of the “Coach Prime” documentary film crew. Others stroll on the field with credentials that say they belong to SMAC Productions, part of a talent agency in Los Angeles that features Sanders as a client.

Each has a role in the show these days at the University of Colorado, a public school that has made a series of highly unusual moves to accommodate it and elevate this football coach as the public face of the university.

Many of those moves have paid off. Sanders has led the Buffaloes to a 4-1 start in his second season and will again take his team to the national stage Saturday night against Kansas State on ESPN.

But some are still skeptical about the list of accommodations for Sanders’ football program, including a big change last year in the acceptance of transfer players and even a ban this year on a journalist Sanders didn’t like.

“People have lost their damn minds on this campus,” said Roger Pielke Jr., a CU Boulder graduate and longtime professor.

USA TODAY Sports compiled a list of changes that have been made for Sanders’ benefit and discussed them with longtime observers of higher education, as well as new CU Boulder chancellor Justin Schwartz, who oversees the campus including the Buffaloes’ athletic department.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders runs onto the field before his team’s game against North Dakota State at Folsom Field.

Two general viewpoints emerged

∎ 1. The university is making a smart business play and already has reaped massive…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/colorado-become-coach-prime-university-110431973.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-11 11:04:31

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