Change is happening all around the Boulder, Colorado campus where the CU Buffs reside. First, it was the hiring of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders to hopefully lead it’s once promising football program that has now become the doormat of Pac-12 back to its glory days.
Since his arrival in December, Sanders has completely overhauled his roster following the team’s 1-11 2022 season and 5-19 the two previous seasons combined.
Deion Sanders Will Be Coaching In Big 12
Now comes news that the entire athletic program, not just the football team will be back in the Big 12 beginning in 2024. The move comes after the Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously to make the move.
“The time has come for us to change conferences,” Colorado president Todd Salina told the board of regents on Thursday afternoon. “We see as a way to create more opportunity for the University of Colorado, for our students and our student-athletes and create a path forward for us in the future.”
The Move Comes At A Time When Pac-12 TV Deal Is Set To Expire
The move will place the Buffaloes back in the Big 12 where they played from 1996-2010. The move also makes Colorado the first Power Five program to return to that same conference at its own discretion.
Was the move strictly about money? Colorado AD says no.
“Let me just state up front that this move was not just based on money or finances,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said. “A decision this big has a lot more to do than just money.”
But that’s hard to believe when last October the Big 12 just signed a TV deal with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $2.2 billion. In 2024, CU will receive $31.7 million for their move, and the new deal begins in 2025.
Buffaloes Struggled In Pac-12
Since their arrival in the Pac-12 in 2011, Colorado hasn’t won a bowl game, and only has two winning seasons. A move back to the Big 12 with Deion at the helm seems like a smart move, especially with traditional powers Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC in 2024.
This is an opportunity for the program to have a revival back to the days when Bill McCartney, Darian Hagan, Rashaan Salaam, Eric Bieniemy, Kordell Stewart, Michael Westbrook and others did their thing amidst the scenic Rocky Mountains.
