Buffs Beat

Deion Sanders Asks NCAA Approval For Colorado vs. Syracuse Joint Spring Game

According to a report, the Colorado Buffaloes and Syracuse Orange have filed paperwork for joint practices and a spring scrimmage. Syracuse coach Fran Brown and Colorado coach Deion Sanders could forever change how spring games are approached in college football.

Jack Carlough

Oct 26, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the first quarter Cincinnati Bearcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the first quarter Cincinnati Bearcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders' plea for an enhanced spring football experience has seemingly been answered.

On Friday evening, Javon Edwards of Syracuse.com reported that Colorado and Syracuse are seeking approval from the NCAA to hold joint practices and a scrimmage in Boulder this spring. Both schools' compliance offices have filed the necessary paperwork with the NCAA, per Edwards.

Sanders got the train moving earlier this week during his first press conference of the spring. In response to several other Power Four college football programs either canceling or modifying their spring games, "Coach Prime" offered the idea of holding a spring scrimmage against another team.

Deion Sanders
Apr 27, 2024; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during a spring game event at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"I would like to play against another team in the spring," Sanders said Monday. "To have a competitive (spring) playing against your own guys kind of gets monotonous, and you really can't tell the level of your guys because it's the same old, same old. Everybody kind of knows each other towards the end. I would like to style it like the pros. I would like to practice against someone for a few days and then you have a spring game. I think the public will be satisfied with that tremendously."

Syracuse coach Fran Brown answered Sanders' call to action via X, offering his Orange to visit Boulder for three days.

Brown later spoke with the media about his desire to practice and scrimmage against Colorado in a spring setting. He also shared his respect for Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who's navigating his third spring season with the Buffs.

“For us to be the first to do it at two historic schools would mean a lot,” Brown said, per Edwards. “Two African-American men, too. To have the opportunity of doing that means a lot. Especially with [Deion Sanders] being an icon.”

Certain teams that have canceled their spring game have cited concern over the transfer portal, sharing their belief that showcasing their players on television helps other programs to poach their top players. Fortunately for fans of Colorado and Syracuse, neither Edwards nor Sanders follow that train of thought.

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“It will help the game,” Brown said, per Edwards “Nobody wants to have spring games anymore. Nobody wants to worry about the portal... I’m just confident in who I am and what I do for the players.”

In a recent Well Off Media YouTube video, Sanders told his players that there's plenty of momentum toward Colorado holding a joint spring game with another team.

"This thing may very well happen," Sanders said. "We may very well have spring practices and a spring game against another opponent. It may very well happen. It looks really good right now."

Brown isn't the only coach who has expressed interest in practicing with Colorado this spring. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire also used the power of X to invite Sanders and the Buffs to practice with the Red Raiders at The Star in Frisco.

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Jack Carlough
JACK CARLOUGH

Jack Carlough graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in journalism and minors in business and sports media. Born and raised in the Boulder area, Jack was the head sports editor of the CU Independent during his college career. More recently, he spent over three years as the managing editor of Colorado Buffaloes Wire, part of the USA Today Sports network. Other publications Jack has written for include the Boulder Daily Camera, Left Hand Valley Courier and SB Nation’s Ralphie Report.

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