Deion Sanders was the subject of congressional inquiry before the 1989 NFL Draft

A news report on "Prime Time" and his attendance prompted some attention in Washington

Deion Sanders talks about success at Colorado /

As it turns out, Deion Sanders and his "Prime Time" persona had a few unexpected people wondering what was really happening in Tallahassee. In 1989, a USA Today story featured an excerpt that concerned U.S. Congressman Romano L. Mazzoli enough to prompt him to write a letter to Florida State University’s president on official US House of Representatives letterhead.

The words in question pertained to whether then FSU football star Deion Sanders actually attended classes. What makes the newly-surfaced back-and-forth exchange even better is that it came three months before he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1989 NFL Draft.

FSU archive

Mazzoli, a Kentucky Democrat, sent a letter questioning the priorities of FSU’s administration, implying that the university president was not concerned about student attendance, it raised questions about the institution’s values. He wrote, “If the President of a major university is not interested in whether or not his students go to school, then, pray tell, what are they supposed to be interested in?”

In response, FSU President Bernard F. Sliger assured Mazzoli that he was indeed concerned about the academic attendance of all his students, including his own two children who attended FSU. However, he clarified that he did not personally oversee the academic activities of specific individuals, such as Sanders, a two-time All-American and now Pro Football Hall of Famer.

FSU archive

Mazzoli represented Louisville, Kentucky, and its suburbs in Washington for 24 years until 1995. The Italian immigrant had a deep love for football that started long before his political career and was sparked by the previous generation.

"(My) dad and I were furiously in love with Notre Dame, in large part because of football," Mazzoli said in a 2006 interview. "And we'd go up there, take train trips to the Notre Dame football games back in the forties and fifties when the Irish were the king of the hill."

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This exchange is preserved in the FSU libraries’ special collections and archives. It resurfaced recently when the Tampa Bay Times discovered it while researching FSU’s history in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The findings occurred during the offseason amidst ongoing legal disputes between the Seminoles and their conference. This piece of correspondence sheds light on the scrutiny faced by student-athletes and the expectations placed on university administrators regarding academic standards and oversight.

It also highlights the enduring public and political interest in the balance between athletics and academics at major universities. The debate over Sanders' class attendance serves as a historical example of the broader issues and controversies that often surround college sports programs, particularly when they involve high-profile athletes.

Now, Sanders' players at Colorado scored their highest academic success ever. He's heavily involved and meets with position coaches every two weeks and reviewing progress reports. Believe it or not, in this time of constant chatter about NIL, transfer portal and other stuff making college athletics quite chaotic, the phrase student-athlete still remains relevant to some.