"Their viewership is stunning": Big 12 analyst points to Coach Prime's impact on Colorado's economy

It would be an understatement to say Coach Prime altered the landscape of the Colorado Buffaloes football team shortly after arriving. The Buffaloes have suddenly become the premiere Big 12 school as far as ratings are concerned.

Big 12 football analyst Drake C. Toll talked about the surprising surge for the Buffaloes as a new conference power in “Locked on Big 12.”

“They tripled up the next most watched team in the Big 12. Their viewership is stunning. Deion Sanders has brought a brand-new economy to Boulder and, again, the views are piling in, the money is piling in for that conference and for Colorado individually,” Toll said.

Colorado’s audience numbers reportedly reached over 46.3 million during the regular season. The Buffaloes had over 5.5 million viewers twice this season, including 6.22 million for their game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 23. The Alamo Bowl against the BYU Cougars drew 8 million viewers.

For comparison’s sake, the Big 12 Championship Game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and Iowa State Cyclones had 6.9 million viewers.

While Coach Prime’s arrival is the main reason for Colorado’s growth, the highly productive seasons from Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and potential first-overall draft pick Shedeur Sanders have also pushed the program forward.

Of course, that also means the team can land enough players to stay competitive after a 9-4 2024 season. The Buffaloes lost to conference foe BYU in the Alamo Bowl to close out the season.

Cowboys legend upset Coach Prime didn’t land Cowboys job

The Dallas Cowboys coaching search came to an end after the team promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their head coach. While many people expected Coach Prime to become the next head coach, Jerry Jones decided to go in a different direction.

Count former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin among those who pushed for Sanders. The former player voiced his opinion in a lengthy rant posted on his YouTube channel this Sunday.

"Here's my issue. We lost an opportunity here. I don't know what happened with Coach Schottenheimer and the Cowboys, but Jerry [Jones, team owner and GM] is a shrewd, shrewd businessman, and this opportunity, I'm shocked he did not see. I was pushing for Deion Sanders to be the next head coach, and I still stand 10 toes down on that push,” Irvin said.

Irvin highlighted that NFC East rivals Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles made the NFC Championship Game and appear primed to stay in Super Bowl contention for the coming years. This means the Cowboys also need to buckle up if they want to reach the playoffs.

While it was widely reported that Coach Prime had a call with Jones shortly after McCarthy left the team, there was never a formal interview with Sanders.