Deion Sanders Dealt Unfortunate News Amid College Football Offseason

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has been somewhat of a visionary since taking over the program before the 2023 season.

He was one of the first coaches in college football to go all-in on building his roster through the transfer portal, is one of the first few coaches to go public with fining players and has been pushing extremely hard for the NCAA to allow him to do a joint spring practice with another program.

Sanders floated the idea last season with Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown, but the NCAA didn’t grant permission because their March request came during or after spring ball for programs across the country, something the NCAA felt was unfair to other programs.

As reported by USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer this week, Sanders and Brown filed their idea earlier this year, but were again denied. However, it wasn’t necessarily a timing issue, but more a result of the college football calendar.

“The committee denied it this time because a subcommittee is currently reviewing the whole football calendar for possible changes, including spring football practice, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports,” wrote Schrotenboer. “Committee chair Mark Alnutt told USA TODAY Sports the committee didn’t want to make changes now for only two teams while that review is in progress and current rules prohibit joint spring practices.”

Despite Colorado clearly wanting to participate in a more unique spring event, Schrotenboer confirmed the school does not plan to appeal at this time.

The college football calendar has long been viewed as an issue, with recent changes to the sport, such as the transfer portal and the expansion of the College Football Playoff, only making it that much more complicated. It’s unclear if and when changes will be made, but the rejection does indicate they could be on the horizon.

Related: SEC Team Loses Coach After College Football Season

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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