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BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Deion Sanders has officially been named as the new head coach of Colorado Buffaloes football.

The 55-year-old becomes the 28th full-time head coach for the team, athletic director Rick George announced in a Saturday night news release.

“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” George said.  “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”

Sanders’ first game as head coach for the Buffs will be on Sept. 2 at Texas Christian University. His first home game will be on Sept. 9 against long-time rival Nebraska, and the rival Colorado State game will follow the next weekend.

CU Board of Regents to meet on Sunday

The University of Colorado Board of Regents will hold a special board meeting Sunday at 10 a.m. The board will go into executive session for a “personnel matter at CU Boulder – athletics.”

Sanders confirmed earlier this week that he had been offered the job, but no other official information had been released until now about whether he planned to accept. Sources told FOX31 that the program has offered Sanders a salary of more than $5 million.

News reports pointed all week to a coming hire. On Friday night, ESPN reported that Sanders is already at work to recruit on-field coaching and support staff, and even a prominent player in the NCAA transfer portal.

The ESPN report said he could be in Boulder as soon as Sunday.

Sanders leads Jackson State win in SWAC championship

On Saturday, Sanders coached Jackson State to victory in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game against Southern. He’s been at the historically Black college since 2020.

Sanders played for 14 seasons in the National Football League and is a Pro Football Hall of Famer. He won two Super Bowl titles during his career while also making a World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

The next CU coach will replace Karl Dorrell, who was fired in October after the Buffs got off to a 0-5 start. Dorrell’s buyout means CU will be paying him approximately $8.7 million.