Deion Sanders, Colorado 'Changing The Game' in Big 12 as Texas, OU Head to SEC

It's a shame we won't get to see Deion Sanders march the Colorado Buffaloes into Austin for an entertainment-filled Big 12 bonanza against the Texas Longhorns.

The Big 12 Conference that we've grown to know and (sometimes) love was already set to look vastly different in the near future due to the departure of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners along with the arrival of a handful of new teams.

But now that the Colorado Buffaloes are ditching the Pac-12 in favor of returning to the Big 12, it becomes a quick game of "what could've been" had the Longhorns chose to stay in the conference and subsequently eventually face off against their old rivals for years to come.

Of course for the Longhorns, the grass is greener in the SEC, something that most would agree with. But from a pure entertainment standpoint, it's fun to think about what the old Texas-Colorado rivalry would look like now that NFL legend Deion Sanders is in charge of the Buffs.

He commented on the program's move to the Big 12 in a recent interview with 247Sports, only adding to the excitement of the unknown.

"If everything I'm hearing is true, I applaud our (Athletic Director) Rick George for choosing the best scenario for all athletics at CU," Sanders said. "This move is a game changer and we plan on changing the game."

Regardless of record, national eyes have tended to be on Texas over other Big 12 schools during the past decade despite the program's lack of championship success. Win or lose, people tune in to watch the Longhorns.

But adding a Sanders vs. Texas element once a year would draw crazy media that the conference would be salivating over, and would certainly "change the game" regardless of how you look at it.

A former Dallas Cowboys legend, NFL Hall of Famer and sports culture icon coaching against the flagship university of the state he played pro ball in for five years is instant television.

It might be a waste of time and breath talking about the "what if," but the point remains that it's a shame we won't get to see Deion march the Buffs into DKR for a Big 12 game that would likely have all the entertainment you're looking for and then some.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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