Despite 4-4 Record, ‘Coach Prime’ Continues to be the Best Thing That’s Happened to Colorado [and College Football]

11 months ago, Coach Prime took over a struggling Colorado Buffaloes football program in the most ostentatious way possible. “I’m bringing my luggage with me, and it’s Louis (1),” exclaimed Sanders, effectively washing his hands of last year’s abysmal roster.

What initially looked like a team worthy of the Louis Vuitton moniker (after producing a 3-0 season start) quickly lost momentum, making fans wonder if Coach Prime and his team were “counterfeit” all along.

(Rest assured Buffs fans: They’re not).

In a numbers-driven game, wins matter… and that’s totally understandable. People can say what they want about Colorado and their recent performance on the field, but don’t get it twisted – Coach Prime is the best thing that’s happened to Colorado [and college football].

Let’s start with the basics: Colorado has been bad for quite some time now. Finishing last season 1-11 (tying for the team’s worst record in school history [2]), there wasn’t much hope for the Buffaloes to begin with.

According to David Ubben, senior writer for The Athletic, “They [Colorado] were the worst Power Five team in the country last year. They played five or six games where pretty much the other team could've scored as many points as they wanted to (3).”

With a majority of voters picking Colorado to finish last (or second to last) in the Pac-12 this year (4,5), the media seemed to agree. Prior to the start of the season, this was a team void of talent, hope and expectations. So much so that multiple sportsbooks had Colorado’s 2023 win total set at over/under 3.5 for the season (which they’ve already surpassed [6]). Couple that with the fact that there hasn’t been a winning coach in Boulder since 2005 (7), and it’s easy to see why they were willing to take a chance on Coach Prime.

Surely, they’re glad they did.

While many coaches shy away from seemingly insurmountable challenges, Coach Prime meets them head on. Using newly implemented rule changes to tactfully cut players and “flip the roster (3),” Coach Prime was able to shift the culture of a waning program by successfully assembling a team of “leaders” and “dawgs” who personify the grit, character, and toughness he was looking for to represent his football team (8). By the start of the 2023 season, Colorado had 86 new players on the roster (58 who came directly from the transfer portal [2,7]).

For the longest time, Colorado’s faithful wanted nothing more than a coach, player and/or team to root for. In 2023, by virtue of Coach Prime and his tremendous influence, the Buffaloes delivered.

Each week, Coach Prime strives to put a product on the field that the community can be proud of. A project that, given their status in 2022 as a bottom of the barrel team, should’ve taken years to accomplish (2). Even though the team has struggled as of late (dropping four of their last five games), Coach Prime has continued to demand excellence from his players, setting an example that won’t soon be forgotten.

If you look at Colorado’s schedule, you’ll see they lost to UCLA (20), Stanford, USC (24) and Oregon (6). Aside from their blowout loss to Oregon, they were all competitive games that could’ve gone either way. At times they were exposed, but they never were embarrassed.

While it’s been amazing to see what Colorado has been able to accomplish on the field (and they’re certainly not done), what’s more impressive is what Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes have been able to accomplish off the field.

“I think they had 1,800 people show up for the spring game last year,” said Ubben, reflecting on the differences between this year and last year. “This year, you had a packed house of almost 50,000 despite a huge snowstorm (3).”

According to Front Office Sports, “In Boulder, the Buffaloes have seen a $14 million boost in ticket sales compared to last season and a 42% increase in sponsorship revenue. Sanders himself claimed that Colorado’s home opener against Nebraska generated $18 million in revenue for the city (6).”

On a national scale, TV ratings have been just as impressive (7). “Through week four, total college football viewing was up 14% across all networks (Michael Mulvihill [9]).” According to Sports Media Watch, ABC’s telecast of Colorado vs. Oregon averaged 10.03 million viewers (despite the blowout loss), “which made it the largest Nielsen-measured college football audience of the season (9).”

In all honesty, the best way to describe Coach Prime’s reign is with a quote: “A rising tide lifts all ships.” Coach Prime turned Colorado into an overnight celebrity (literally). By doing so, he elevated himself, his team and college football programs across the country.