Deion Sanders hit with NCAA violation after breaking rules in livestream Colorado Buffaloes were forced to cease and remove
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has broken NCAA rules and paid the price. According to a report in USA Today, Sanders and the Buffaloes were hit with two penalties for minor recruiting violations related to Sanders mentioning top quarterback recruit Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis on his weekly coach’s show. The livestream which Sanders broke the rules on has ceased and been removedGetty Sanders fell foul of the strict NCAA rules by publicly discussing Lewis before the player had officially signed with the Buffaloes. College coaches aren’t allowed to mention the names of recruits who haven’t officially signed with their school, and Sanders said Lewis’ name during one of his weekly shows. The other infraction came when the host of a coaches mentioned Lewis’ name in a question to Sanders before Lewis had signed. USA Today reports Sanders as saying on the show: “Sanders then gave an example of how he recruited Lewis.” “Hey, get JuJu on the phone and get his pop on the phone,” Sanders said as an example. “See if his dad want to come down and just sit down and chop it up with me. “He sat in my office I think a few weeks ago for a couple hours,” Deion Sanders said on the show about the father. “I said, `C,mon, give it all to me because I know you’ve got a bunch of questions on your mind. Let’s go.’ And we did that. And he walked away feeling really comfortable about where we’re headed.” The two episodes of the show that generated the NCAA violations were removed from YouTube. The Buffaloes also ended their practice of livestreaming Sanders’ show and it will not be live-streamed on the platform going forward. Colorado self-reported the violation and implemented self-imposed penalties, which includes requiring Sanders to attend additional NCAA rules education sessions and reduce in-person recruiting days during the 2025 spring contact period by four days. The school also agreed to “implement new institutional controls on the football weekly coaches show,” according to the school’s report on the matter. “The content will no longer be livestreamed. External relations will therefore be able to review and edit content that could be construed as impermissible publicity of (recruits).” Sanders will now have to attend additional NCAA rules education sessionsGetty Lewis will replace Shedeur at QB as the younger Sanders moves to the NFLGetty These minor violations are also fairly common in college sports and are not considered major issues unless they become part of a bigger pattern. Despite the penalties, the violation also does not impact Lewis’ eligibility to play at Colorado. The former USC commit flipped to Colorado in November, following visits to other prominent programs such as Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, and Auburn. He is ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 43 overall prospect in the 2025 class, representing a major coup for the Buffs program. In his final year at Carrollton High School in Georgia, the 6ft 1in signal caller completed 75.8 percent of his passes for 3,272 yards and 44 touchdowns, solidifying his status as one of the best quarterbacks in his class. Lewis looks set to take over as Colorado’s starter in 2026, with previous quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, heading to the NFL. Shedeur ended his final collegiate season with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, potentially earning himself the top pick — currently held by the Tennessee Titans — in spring’s NFL draft. He’ll be joined by fellow Buffs teammate Travis Hunter, who was named this season’s Heisman Trophy winner. Hunter has a chance to play on both sides of the ball in the NFLAP Sanders has been linked with a return to the Cowboys but says he’s happy in BoulderAFP/Getty ‘Prime Time’ took over in Colorado in 2022 and transformed a struggling 1-11 team into a 9-4 squad in the space of two years. Under ‘Prime Time’s’ watch, the Buffs became one of the most box office teams in college football, spearheaded by their two superstar players, Hunter and Sanders Jr. 2025 will mark a new era in Boulder, with the elder Sanders increasingly looking as though he will stay as the program’s head coach. He was linked the vacant Dallas Cowboys job, but has not interviewed with the team, who now look like appointing former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Amid recent rumors of a return to the NFL, Sanders emphasized that Colorado is ultimately where he wants to be. “I love Colorado. I love everything we’re building I love what we’re doing, and I love Boulder, Colorado,” he said. Follow talkSPORT NFL on Facebook Follow our talkSPORT NFL page on Facebook for the latest breaking NFL news, exclusive video interviews, and the biggest talking points from around the league. Our dedicated NFL YouTube channel ‘End Zone’ will also keep you across t
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has broken NCAA rules and paid the price.
According to a report in USA Today, Sanders and the Buffaloes were hit with two penalties for minor recruiting violations related to Sanders mentioning top quarterback recruit Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis on his weekly coach’s show.
Sanders fell foul of the strict NCAA rules by publicly discussing Lewis before the player had officially signed with the Buffaloes.
College coaches aren’t allowed to mention the names of recruits who haven’t officially signed with their school, and Sanders said Lewis’ name during one of his weekly shows.
The other infraction came when the host of a coaches mentioned Lewis’ name in a question to Sanders before Lewis had signed.
USA Today reports Sanders as saying on the show: “Sanders then gave an example of how he recruited Lewis.”
“Hey, get JuJu on the phone and get his pop on the phone,” Sanders said as an example. “See if his dad want to come down and just sit down and chop it up with me.
“He sat in my office I think a few weeks ago for a couple hours,” Deion Sanders said on the show about the father. “I said, `C,mon, give it all to me because I know you’ve got a bunch of questions on your mind. Let’s go.’ And we did that. And he walked away feeling really comfortable about where we’re headed.”
The two episodes of the show that generated the NCAA violations were removed from YouTube.
The Buffaloes also ended their practice of livestreaming Sanders’ show and it will not be live-streamed on the platform going forward.
Colorado self-reported the violation and implemented self-imposed penalties, which includes requiring Sanders to attend additional NCAA rules education sessions and reduce in-person recruiting days during the 2025 spring contact period by four days.
The school also agreed to “implement new institutional controls on the football weekly coaches show,” according to the school’s report on the matter.
“The content will no longer be livestreamed. External relations will therefore be able to review and edit content that could be construed as impermissible publicity of (recruits).”
These minor violations are also fairly common in college sports and are not considered major issues unless they become part of a bigger pattern.
Despite the penalties, the violation also does not impact Lewis’ eligibility to play at Colorado.
The former USC commit flipped to Colorado in November, following visits to other prominent programs such as Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, and Auburn.
He is ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 43 overall prospect in the 2025 class, representing a major coup for the Buffs program.
In his final year at Carrollton High School in Georgia, the 6ft 1in signal caller completed 75.8 percent of his passes for 3,272 yards and 44 touchdowns, solidifying his status as one of the best quarterbacks in his class.
Lewis looks set to take over as Colorado’s starter in 2026, with previous quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, heading to the NFL.
Shedeur ended his final collegiate season with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, potentially earning himself the top pick — currently held by the Tennessee Titans — in spring’s NFL draft.
He’ll be joined by fellow Buffs teammate Travis Hunter, who was named this season’s Heisman Trophy winner.
‘Prime Time’ took over in Colorado in 2022 and transformed a struggling 1-11 team into a 9-4 squad in the space of two years.
Under ‘Prime Time’s’ watch, the Buffs became one of the most box office teams in college football, spearheaded by their two superstar players, Hunter and Sanders Jr.
2025 will mark a new era in Boulder, with the elder Sanders increasingly looking as though he will stay as the program’s head coach.
He was linked the vacant Dallas Cowboys job, but has not interviewed with the team, who now look like appointing former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
Amid recent rumors of a return to the NFL, Sanders emphasized that Colorado is ultimately where he wants to be.
“I love Colorado. I love everything we’re building I love what we’re doing, and I love Boulder, Colorado,” he said.
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