What’s in the College Football News This Week
It is still reasonably quiet on the College Football news front this week. We have the NFL draft and later stages of March Madness on the horizon which is keeping the focus. But I have scoured the newswires and below is my pick of what’s in the College Football news this week.
Joint Spring Game – NCAA says “No!”
Starting with the bad news first! I mentioned last week that the Colorado Buffaloes were looking for someone to partner up with to run a joint Spring Game. They found a willing dance-partner in Syracuse Orange who were keen to participate. This story built up quite nicely for a few days until, sadly, the NCAA FBS Oversight committee burst everyone’s bubble!
With so much talk of cancelling spring games it was refreshing to see Colorado and Syracuse go a different route. The committee’s main objections seemed to be around the short decision time given and maintaining fairness across the board. The rationale for the latter being the two schools in question could gain a recruiting advantage.
These arguments are understandable and it was unlikely that the NCAA would have agreed to this request. But with more time for leagues to build a credible case, we could see an arrangement such as the one proposed in coming seasons.
The ability to hold mixed training camps/spring games might stave off the trend to end these games. But it is unlikely to make the issue go away completely. The arguments against a spring games will still apply. A mixed training session/camp adds an additional variant in that you have two sets of players potentially with a point to prove that don’t know each other. The risk of injury in this scenario will be elevated.
Coach Sanders does seem to be pushing a path towards more professionalisation/an NFL style approach at Colorado. It follows that he will want to reflect these values in a pre-season for this team.
Coastal Carolina looking after Fans
I have spoken on the blog about the importance of the fans and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers just went and pulled the most pro-fan move ever…announcing free food and drink at their home games this season.
Fans can choose from a number of items and log what they take on an app. The move is designed to improve fan engagement and ultimately put more bodies on seats during the season.
The VP for Athletics, Chance Miller, is focussed on fan engagement and sees it as a way to build a stronger and more sustainable fan base. They plan to use the app data for future cross sales into merchandise, future games and season tickets. They also estimate that the spike they expect in ticket sales will cover the costs of the food and drink.
According to D1.Ticker.com, Coastal Carolina had an average attendance of 18,622 in 2024. That is around lower/ middle of the pack for the Sunbelt Conference. This definitely offers scope for growth with a capacity of 21,000. It must also be remembered that their football programme is relatively new with their first season only being 2003.
Given general economic conditions and the upward trend for tickets and food at games, these moves by the Chaunticleers are welcome and I look forward to seeing if this translate to improved attendances and a great game day atmosphere.
Deion Sanders Contract Extension
Coach Sanders at the Colorado Buffaloes makes another paragraph in my blog this week. This time with the news breaking that he has agreed a new 5 year contract keeping him at the Buffaloes until 2029.
There is no denying the draw of his personality which is being seen in recruitment not only in the football team but also for the main university where student applications are said to be up by 20%. I can imagine a team talk with him is as motivating as it can get.
On the field, the Buffaloes went to a respectable 9-4 last year following a 4-8 in his first year. This year they will not be able to call on the services of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Deion’s son, Shedeur Sanders. Both players have entered the draft and are expected to be picked early.
The deal puts Deion Sanders in the upper echelons of coaches when it comes to pay. It could be argued that the on-field product is yet to justify that but the Buffaloes clearly like what they see is being built and have bought in for the medium term. There are quite severe financial penalties for breaking the contract at the short end which ease as time goes on.
College football is a game that needs characters and Coach Sanders is certainly one, so it is nice that he will be around the college game for some time. It would appear that his future at some point would lie in the NFL, but until that day we can all benefit from his coaching and personality on a Saturday!
