Deion Sanders is changing college football, and his impact on the Power Five level was immediate. With only stiffer competition ahead, here are five examples of how Deion Sanders affected the college game after only three games as the head coach of Colorado Buffaloes.
The Ratings Generator: Colorado Vs. Colorado State
Colorado’s comeback win over Colorado State had so many eyeballs on it that is has now become one of the most-watched regular season games in college football history.
ESPN announced that the 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State University had a staggering 9.3 million viewers. The late game went into the early morning on the East Coast, but it was that riveting to viewers. It now stands as the fifth most-watched regular-season matchup in ESPN history.
By comparison, college football games in the late time slot last season averaged 1.7 million viewers. It is not paltry but is a far cry from what CU vs. CSU did.
Colorado’s week 2 matchup against Nebraska grabbed 8.73 million viewers, making it Fox’s most watched broadcast involving a Pac-12 team. It is now also the network’s 10th most-watched college football game.
Every Home Game Is Like HBCU Homecoming
If you couldn’t recognize it, culturally, Coach Prime is turning a Rocky Mountain PWI into a Saturday HBCU homecoming turnup. The pageantry was there, as all of the A-celebrities ascended upon Boulder drawn to the town by the magic of Sanders. The crowd and sidelines were more melananted than usual.
He brought the Black college ethos to the mountains because if you must leave Jackson State, bring the swag with you. The energy is felt from stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and rapper Lil’ Wayne to rapper Cam’ron, now making it his job to attend Buffs home games and report on Sanders’ tenure as part of his “It Is What It Is” podcast.
NBA stars like Chauncey Billups and Kyle Lowry were in the suites with rapper Offset on the sidelines, more tuned into the game than the interview the Migos member gave during it. Simply put, Colorado is lit, which is ultimately a Prime Effect.
The Ultimate Disruptor
Some media members have felt the Coach Prime effect on the opposing coaches, and each response to his popularity in the college ranks has been similar: antagonistic or resentful.
Although he may have gotten some of the receipts wrong regarding the journalist, Prime has been taking notes on which publications doubted his entrance into the Power Five, and he’s making them pay, one postgame press conference at a time.
Additionally, his beef in the last two games is now legendary. From Shedeur making the watch in your face the new form of disrespect when he did it against Nebraska players who stood on the Buffaloes logo to Colorado State University coach Jay Norvell’s comments that indirectly took a shot at Prime’s Mama Connie’s child-rearing, the opposing teams are big mad in significant ways.
The Salesman: Deion Sanders Makes Sure Everybody Gets Paid
Coach Prime can sell anything after taking a team from 1-11 last season to 3-0. Within one day of announcing a collaborative design with Sanders, Blenders eyewear company received $1.2 million in pre-orders and has sold more than 72,000 units per The Denver Post.
Thank you, CSU coach Jay Norvell.
With a $67 price point, that’s over $4.8 million in sales, and the pre-order period is over in mid-October.
“Sales of officially licensed Colorado products are up 700 percent year-over-year since Sanders was first hired on Dec. 3,” per Doug Greenberg of Front Office Sports. Not surprisingly, T-shirts and sweatshirts with “Coach Prime” written on the front and a copy of Sanders’ signature on the back are the hottest sellers.
The Dream Maker:
Only three games in, and Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are already on many people’s early Heisman voting lists. The level of attention on all Buffs players currently is blinding the stats of other great players on other teams simply because the light is shining so brightly on the Buffs. With Tom Brady mentoring Shedeur and Travis Hunter still the recruit that every top school can’t believe they lost, Sanders is “priming” his stars for professional futures.
Additionally, the team posted the school’s best team GPA ever with a 2.932 at the end of the past spring semester.
“Our goal is to cultivate professionals, whether it’s on the field, in the business world or in our communities,” Sanders said in a statement in June. “A winner wins on the field, off the field and in the community but it all starts in the classroom.”
The Prime Effect is real and the season has just begun.
