With eyes on Coach Prime, Colorado’s regents call meeting

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — With signs pointing toward Deion Sanders becoming the next coach at Colorado, the school’s board of regents called a special meeting for Sunday.

Nothing’s official yet regarding the Jackson State coach. The university hasn’t commented on any candidates taking over, either. But the scheduling of a regents meeting could be another signal that a coaching hire could be imminent.

As other schools have filled their head coaching vacancies in the past week, with national signing day and the opening of the transfer portal fast approaching, Colorado has waited until championship weekend plays out.

Sanders was leading Jackson State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game against Southern on Saturday. Heading into the game, he was 26-5 in three seasons.

Sanders said earlier this week he received an offer from Colorado. He also said he had been contacted by other schools. But he deflected any decisions regarding his future until after the end of the season.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer has been at Jackson State, a historically Black college that plays in the NCAA’s Championship Subdivision, since 2020.

Should he be hired, Colorado could prove to be quite a challenge for the 55-year-old Sanders, who inherits a program that’s had one full-length winning season since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

The Buffaloes are coming off a 1-11 season in which Karl Dorrell was dismissed in October and interim coach Mike Sanford finished out the season that culminated with a 63-21 blowout loss to No. 12 Utah at home.

The hiring of Sanders would bring instant name recognition and a track record of being able to recruit top-level talent. It’s certainly energized the campus and the community, with a fan at a recent Colorado basketball game holding up a sign that read, “It’s Time 4 Prime.”

An All-American at Florida State, Sanders was a standout with five NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, where he won a Super Bowl with each. He also played nine MLB seasons and reached the World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1992.

___

AP National Writer Ralph D. Russo and AP Sports Writer Gary B. Graves contributed to this report.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2