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There are plenty of storylines to keep tabs on ahead of the 2023 college football season, but there isn’t a single one that’s come close to attracting the amount of attention the University of Colorado has garnered since hiring Deion Sanders to coach its program.
It’s a bit of a stretch to describe that decision as a “risky move” when you consider the Buffaloes really have nowhere to go but up after finishing last year with a 1-11 record.
Now, the folks at ESPN seem to think Sanders will be at the helm of a similarly dismal campaign when everything is said and done, but it’s been impossible to ignore the impact the “Coach Prime Effect” has had since he arrived in Boulder.
Colorado had never sold tickets to its spring game prior to this year, but it was able to move more than 30,000 tickets for a contest that was also broadcast on national television.
However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his impact on the gate, as the school was also able to sell out its yearly allotment of season tickets by the middle of April and seems very confident fans will be willing to shell out a pretty penny to attend its home opener against Nebraska.
It’s been a while since a Colorado football game could be considered “appointment television,” but it appears the powers that be at Fox think that’s now the case based on the schedule the network released on Wednesday.
As things currently stand, Colorado will be featured in the first two iterations of Big Noon Saturday, as Fox will air their visit to TCU in Week 1 in addition to the aforementioned contest against the Cornhuskers in Week 2 (the Big Noon Kickoff crew will also be setting up shop in Boulder for that second game).
The haters and doubters will probably argue this is just a chance for Sanders and Colorado to get embarrassed on one of college football’s biggest televised stages, but it’ll be very interesting to see if they’re able to keep getting similarly esteemed coverage as the season unfolds.