Top 5 NCAA violations that Colorado football committed under Deion Sanders ft. Transfer Portal violation 

Colorado became a sensation in the college football world following the hiring of Deion Sanders as the new coach. The arrival of the Pro Football Hall of Famer to Boulder brought the Buffaloes to the center of attention with the landscape and raised the expectations for the team.

Despite the frenzy around the Buffaloes all season, the program seems to have committed a lot of minor violations of NCAA rules in 2023, according to USA TODAY Sports. The university athletic department self-reported at least 16 infractions to the governing body, of which 11 were incurred by the football program.

"The University of Colorado Boulder Athletic Department is committed to complying with NCAA regulations and will continue to educate our coaches, student-athletes, and staff to ensure that we remain in compliance,” Colorado said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.

"We take all infractions seriously, regardless of the severity, and in these specific cases, these minor infractions were all self-reported to the NCAA. This demonstrates the effectiveness of our established compliance systems which are the basis of our see department's positive partnership with the NCAA."

We examine the top five infractions committed by the Colorado football program.

Top 5 NCAA violations committed by Colorado

#1. Transfer portal violation

When you make use of the portal that much, it’s hard not to go against the rules. Colorado hosted a camp in May 2023 for over 350 high school graduates and college players on the transfer portal. However, seven players did not have an active status on the transfer portal.

This made the Buffaloes guilty of tampering with players outside the portal according to rule 13.1.1.3. The violation came to light when another college football program reported to the NCAA that one of their players took part in the camp without first notifying the transfer.

“While this is a violation of NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3, the intent was not to solicit enrollment to CU Boulder prior to a student-athlete entering the transfer portal. The communications with the participants were limited and only occurred related to camp participation,” the school reported.

#2. Pre-game security breakdown

According to the NCAA rules, there’s a limit to what a recruit can do on an official visit to a program. Colorado was guilty of a violation involving a potential recruit during its Week 7 against Stanford in October. It involved former Buffaloes player Matt McChesney and his son.

The son of McChesney is a recruit from the Class of 2028. For that reason, he is prohibited from simulating a gameday scenario. However, after meeting the team with his father in the locker room ahead of the game, they ran onto the field with the team, leading to a gameday simulation. The school’s report is as follows:

“McChesney is well known and told security that they were permitted to entire the tunnel and also the locker room. The football coaching staff was not involved and was in the midst of pre-game preparations and did not know (McChesney and son) were in the locker room.”

#3. Deion Sanders’ Instagram Live violation

When Colorado was serving a self-imposed penalty of a recruiting ban in May 2023, Deion Sanders hosted an Instagram Live session on his personal IG page. Unfortunately, a recruiting prospect, disclosed to be Aaron Butler by USA TODAY Sports, participated.

Notably, Sanders did not engage in a public conversation with Butler during the session, but his two-minute featured participation violated NCAA rule 13.10.1.2. This NCAA bylaw prohibits recruits from being involved in media activity conducted by a school’s head coach.

Chase Meyer, a university rule compliance staff, notably called for the halt of the live stream after he was notified of the situation. The Buffaloes self-imposed a two-week recruiting ban on Butler after the incident. However, he eventually committed to play for Colorado.

#4. Social media violation

Deion Sanders’ social media team posted an image on X (formerly Twitter) displaying a spreadsheet of recruiting prospects. This action notably violated rule 13.10.1, which prohibits a school from publicizing the identity of recruits before they officially sign with the school.

The NCAA infraction notably came to light through routine social media monitoring. This prompted the removal of the spreadsheet from the social media platform 10 minutes after it had been posted. Nonetheless, the Buffaloes were already guilty of a violation.

“The intent of the post was not to publicize the recruitment of the listed (recruits), because the majority of the (recruits) posted are not being recruited by CU; the intent was to show (recruits) that they were not being ignored," the school's report said.

#5. Impermissible contact with recruits

While assessing a spring game for recruiting purposes in May 2023, a recruit requested to take a picture with Colorado linebackers coach Andre’ Hart, which was kindly granted. The recruit later posted this picture on social media.

This interaction was considered impermissible contact with a prospective student-athlete before the first permissible date for in-person contact. Hart responded by asking the recruit to remove the picture and promptly self-reported the violation.