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Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program are in the NCAA’s sights.
According to a report from Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today, the Buffaloes have committed 11 NCAA violations since hiring Coach Prime in December 2022.
The good news, however, is Colorado should avoid any significant punishment.
Colorado self-reported the minor NCAA violations, “none of which risked any serious penalties.” The violations are “common in virtually every major college athletic department,” according to Schrotenboer.
Schrotenboer detailed some of the violations, with his social media use and focus on the transfer portal contributing to a handful.
“In this case, the violations under Sanders provide a window into how his frequent activity on social media sometimes tested technical bylaws,” Schrotenboer wrote. “Colorado’s transfer-heavy recruiting approach under Sanders also clashed at times with NCAA regulations.
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“In one case, a security breakdown led to an impermissible ‘gameday simulation’ for a recruit, followed by a write-up from the NCAA that said ‘future similar violations may result in more significant penalties including suspension of the head coach from a contest.'”
The Buffaloes also hosted a camp with 350 invitees; seven of which were not in the transfer portal at the time.
But, despite the number of violations, Colorado will not face any serious repercussions unless they continue to test the technicalities and bylaws of the NCAA.
Coach Prime and the Buffs started off the season red hot at 3-0, including a win over No. 17 TCU. Unfortunately, once Pac-12 play came along, Colorado went just 1-8 en route to a 4-8 finish on the year. Considering this program won only one game the season prior and was bringing in a whole new group of players, it should still be considered a successful season that they can build on.