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Rewind a bit to December of 2022 when the University of Colorado announced that it hired Deion Sanders to be its new head football coach.
Sure, there were plenty of people who were fans of the move.
But there were just as many if not more detractors.
After all, Colorado didn’t even have the money to pay Sanders his $5.9 million per year as part of a larger five years, $29.5 million deal.
“We don’t have the money yet,” George told reporters then. “But I know we’ll have it.”
Perhaps George was just being wildly optimistic. Or, perhaps, George knew something that nobody else did.
Fast forward to the present day and Sanders’ Buffaloes are 3-2 after winning just one game a week ago. They spent three weeks ranked in the AP Top 25 before a loss to Oregon.
The town of Boulder is raking in money hand over fist on game weekends and Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have established themselves as two of the biggest stars in all of college football.
But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the impact Deion Sanders is having on the university
For that, we turn to an article by Sean Gregory of Time Magazine which was released on Friday.
Since Sanders came to Boulder, the University of Colorado has seen an unprecedented uptick in out of state applicants to attend the school.
“Colorado chancellor Philip DiStefano says out-of-state applications have climbed 40%,” George reports.
DiStefano called the massive increase “transformational” for the university.
And it doesn’t stop there. Not even close.
The school’s online team-store merchandise sales are up 892% year-to-date over 2022.
But why, other than his unmatched charisma, is Sanders such a compelling figure? He tells George that it’s about much more than just him.
“People are drawn to hope, man,” Sanders saud. “Shoot, we’re David. We ain’t got but a couple of stones here. We’re playing against Goliath every week. We were 1-11, and now you’re tripping about us? We’re pulling people in, man, that just want a chance to be seen, to be heard, to be noticed, to be recognized.”
Who knows how long Deion Sanders stays at Colorado.
But one thing is certain. What he is doing in just a short period of time could transform the future of the university.