College football insider ponders whether Deion Sanders played role in Colorado's move back to Big 12

Last year, Colorado went 1-11 in football and finished fourth in the Pac-12 in basketball. But there’s a new type of buzz around the Buffs now that Deion Sanders is in as head football coach — and it’s worth wondering if that played a role in the decision to return to the Big 12.

According to The Athletic’s Max Olson, Sanders’ hiring could’ve been a factor.

Olson assessed the impact “Coach Prime” might have had on the Big 12’s decision to bring Colorado back to the league next season. He noted — and has previously reported — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been interested in the Buffaloes for some time, but Sanders’ hiring could have impacted interest from the league.

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“It’s a great question,” Olson said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I think it’s still possible. … Again, last summer, Brett Yormark really circled this as something he really wanted to pull off, an achievement that he felt like he needed to deliver for the folks in the Big 12 and taking over the conference. Obviously, you know, a 1-11 season didn’t really impact how much they wanted Colorado. Deion Sanders coming in, I think the excitement around Coach Prime matters to them. I think they feel like there’s a lot of upside there and they want to invest in programs that they feel like can make the Big 12 more valuable over time.

“So if Colorado can have stability and hold on to Coach Prime and have a successful run here, ultimately, that makes the Big 12 better and more valuable in the long term. So I think that’s a big part of it. If they’d hired someone else or if it’s still Karl Dorrell, would they pass on Colorado? It’s a good question. I hadn’t really thought about that. But I think they’re pretty excited about where things are heading there and just the fit, ultimately, of Colorado coming back to a conference that they helped start.”

Rumors have swirled about the Big 12 and Colorado for some time. It dates back to July 22, 2022 when reports initially indicated the conference met with the Buffaloes and the rest of the “Four Corners” schools. Olson then reported a renewed interest in March 2023 with colleague Stewart Mandel. To put that timeline in perspective, Sanders was hired Dec. 3, 2022.

As it stands now, the Big 12 will be at 13 teams next year after Texas and Oklahoma officially leave for the SEC. The league doesn’t seem to be done adding, though. On3’s Eric Prisbell reported Arizona is a target and the Big 12 is intent on adding another team to get back to 14.