Deion Sanders is already breaking Colorado school records — all without coaching a single meaningful snap for the Buffaloes.
The team has not only sold out its spring football game, it also has sold out season tickets for just the ninth time in school history and the first time since 1996. "Coach Prime" is at the center of the massive spike in interest in a team that went 1-11 in 2022.
Sanders doesn't just spring star power and recruiting savvy to Boulder, Colo.: He also has a proven track record at his only previous college coaching stop, HBCU Jackson State. The Tigers won consecutive SWAC titles in 2021 and 2022, making the Celebration Bowl — otherwise known as the Black national championship game — in both seasons.
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And ticketholders aren't the only ones taking notice of Sanders coming to Colorado: The Buffaloes are enjoying a recruiting renaissance, ranking 21st nationally per 247Sports' Composite rankings. That's CU's highest since ranking 15th in 2008.
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Colorado also has the top-ranked transfer portal class in the country, with former No. 1 overall recruit Travis Hunter joining a star-studded group of ex-Jackson State players — including Sanders' son Shedeur — in Boulder.
It's no surprise, then, that Colorado has enjoyed record ticket sales. Here's everything you need to know about the Buffaloes' 2023 home games, starting with the spring game:
Colorado 2023 season ticket sales
According to a university statement on April 17, the 2023 season will be Colorado's first season of sellouts since 1996, the last of seven consecutive seasons. The program's first sellout season was in 1971.
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Included in the statement was the note that this is the first time in program history the school has sold out its football season tickets before August. Moreover, Colorado set a program record with a 98 percent renewal rate among last year's season ticketholders. It has collected 20,000 interest forms since Sanders' hiring in December.
"Selling out of season tickets for the first time in almost 30 years shows how strong our fan base is," athletic director Rick George said in the statement. "Selling out at the earliest point before a season in our history is a testament to our fans thirst to see a championship caliber product on the field.
"The 100th season of Folsom Field will be a special one with Coach Prime's first team and a tremendous home schedule on tap. We expect a full house every game and believe we will accomplish that goal shortly after single game tickets go on sale."
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Folsom Field, CU's home stadium, has a reported capacity of 50,183.
The 2023 home schedule also features several games that may have boosted ticket sales. Former Big 12 rival Nebraska will play the Buffaloes for the first time since 2019, and USC — a year out from leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten — will visit on Sept. 30. Rival Colorado State will visit on Sept. 16.
Colorado 2023 spring game ticket sales
According to a March 30 statement from Colorado, Saturday's Black & Gold Game will be the highest-attended spring game in program history, with just over 45,000 expected to attend the game at $10 a ticket. The previous record was "just under" 18,000 in 2008.
"The attendance will also surpass the aggregate total of the last nine spring games combined and be just slightly smaller than the three largest previous spring game attendance marks combined," Colorado said in the statement.
The Black & Gold Game is also one of just two spring games in 2023 that will be televised nationally. It will air on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. The other is defending national champion Georgia's, which aired April 15 on ESPN2.
