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The Colorado Buffaloes have been college football’s most popular program in 2023. Most of that attention can be attributed to head coach Deion Sanders, who currently has the Buffs at 4-2.
Since his arrival in Boulder, the school has seen an uptick in every major category, both football and non-football related.
CU has seen an increase in student applications, merchandise sales, ticket sales, and overall media attention. College GameDay and FOX Big Noon Kickoff have already been on campus to take in games.
The city itself raked in a ridiculous amount of revenue after the team’s matchup against Nebraska, and every home game that’s followed.
NIL opportunities are through the roof, and they’ll only grow given the on-field success in Coach Prime’s first season.
To no one’s surprise, we’ve also seen a massive boost in social media following. According to Joe Pompliano, Colorado’s football team’s Instagram account had 58,000 followers when Sanders was hired.
They just became the fourth program to eclipse 1 million followers.
Colorado football has officially hit 1 million followers on Instagram.
They had just 58,000 followers when Deion Sanders was hired, and they now join Alabama, Ohio State, and LSU as the only college football programs with 1M+ followers.
That’s incredible. pic.twitter.com/MNZe3Yxbec
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 10, 2023
The Buffs join LSU, Alabama, and Ohio State as the only college football teams to boast that status, joining three of the sport’s most successful brands.
Sanders appears to have created the perfect storm in Boulder.
The transfer portal and NIL have allowed him to further amplify his already stellar recruiting prowess. He’s used that incoming talent to get off to a surprising 4-2 start. On-field success should only lead to off-field benefits (revenue, recruiting, etc.), giving Colorado the potential to become a major player in the college football landscape.
The Deion Effect is on full display in the 2023 season, and the Colorado football team’s Instagram popularity is a direct reflection of that success.