How moving to the Big 12 can significantly help Colorado reach further

On Thursday, Colorado announced its decision to leave the Pac-12 and return to the Big 12 Conference in 2024. While there was no shortage of negative commentary on the move, On3’s JD PicKell believes the Buffaloes are migrating in the right direction.

“From a recruiting standpoint, now, your reach becomes a little bit more expanded, for lack of a better term, because Colorado now can go into those homes in Texas, and be able to confidently tell these kids, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be able to come play at a Power Five conference.

“‘You’re going to have a lot of games in your home state of Texas. We’re gonna play TCU. We’re going to play Baylor. We’re gonna play Texas Tech. You can still get away from home and have the college experience you want to have and kind of get out of your comfort zone, but, rest assured, we’re coming right back to the Lone Star State.

“You can make the same pitch in the state of Florida. I mean, UCF is in the conference. Coach Prime, he’s from Florida. As long as he’s in Colorado, I have a hard time believing they’re not going to have a little bit of something to say in the Sunshine State,” PicKell said.

It’s a fair assumption. Head coach Deion Sanders has never failed to excel in recruiting. Although Colorado did not hire Sanders until December 2022, he still built the No. 35 recruiting class in the nation, according to On3 Industry Rankings.

Further, Sanders has dominated the transfer portal, enticing over 48 transfers to join the Buffaloes this offseason. With more selling points in the Big 12, Sanders’ sales pitch might become even more effective. PicKell believes the benefits of joining the Big 12 don’t stop with priority locations.

“You’re going to be able to tell these kids confidently when you play a football game that there is a 0% chance that our broadcast with ESPN and Fox gets cut short because you got a “Golden Girls” re-run right up against it. You can’t say the same for the Pac-12 right now.

“If you’re in the Pac-12, you might have to tell these kids, ‘Hey, go down the street. Find the nearest gas station, fill up some gas, and, on that TV screen on the pump, you may be able to catch a Pac-12 football game.’ Like, come on now?

“I know that’s a little bit tongue in cheek,” PicKell said. “But, we all understand being able to have your family and friends watch you on a national television broadcast means something. It means something to these kids that grew up watching games on Fox. Grew up watching games on ESPN.

“Colorado now being with the Big 12, that’s good. I think it helps their case with a visibility standpoint and being able to tell these families and these friends, ‘Yeah, go and watch me. Turn on ESPN. Turn on Fox. You don’t have to worry about getting the CW or whoever ends up grabbing the Pac-12,'” PicKell said.

Colorado first must take on its full Pac-12 slate this season before exiting the conference alongside USC and UCLA, who are heading to the Big Ten themselves.