Tag: Rick George

Rick George sends lengthy message to fans regarding conduct during games

Colorado AD Rick George sent a lengthy message to fans in regard to their conduct, which included a plea to avoid rushing the field

Folsom Field has become one of the most electric atmospheres in college football quickly. So far, there have been two home games in the Deion Sanders era. The first was a win over Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the second was a double-overtime victory over Colorado State.

Next up is a massive showdown with the USC Trojans in the first (and last) Pac-12 opener for Coach Prime.

Ahead of the game, athletic director Rick George sent out a message to all ticket holders. In it, George pleaded for better behavior from the fans and asked them not to rush the field, something that college football is beginning to crack down on.

George mentions there have been a lot of complaints regarding fan misconduct, especially from the students.

With USC coming to town, things could get out of hand quickly, and George doesn’t want that to happen.

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Rick George not surprised that Colorado is ranked after one game

Appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Rick George gave his thoughts on Colorado being ranked after just one game

University of Colorado athletic director Rick George stood back and swung for the fences by going after Deion Sanders. Well, it worked, and Coach Prime eventually became the new head coach of the Buffaloes.

Then, after a stunning opening victory against TCU, George and Sanders embraced in a special moment, and you can tell that something special is brewing at CU, which is now ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25.

Ahead of Saturday’s Nebraska tilt, George hopped on The Jim Rome Show and was asked if he expected Colorado to be ranked after just one game.

“Yeah, I kind of did,” George told Rome. “He (Sanders) exudes that. He’s talked about winning and winning now and he’s put an emphasis on that. I’m not surprised that we’re having these conversations. The fact that we had 7.3 million viewers on the broadcast — the biggest week of “Big Noon” that they’ve had ever — just says there’s a ton of interest in Coach Prime and this university. I couldn’t be happier.”

It was a terrific start for the Buffs, and viewers tuned in everywhere to see what Coach Prime and the new-look Buffs could do in Week 1.

With the first home game at Folsom Field under Coach Prime coming up against Matt Rhule and Nebraska, ticket prices have skyrocketed and the Buffs are the biggest story in college football thanks to George.

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Deion Sanders, Rick George share emotional moment after Buffs’ big win

Deion Sanders and Rick George shared an emotional moment together soon after Colorado beat TCU

The Colorado Buffaloes were not afraid to show their emotions after  downing No.17 TCU in Fort Worth on Saturday. From defensive ends coach Nick Williams embracing Deion Sanders on the sideline to players celebrating, the Buffs were excited about their work in Week 1. But one special moment was captured at midfield after the game.

Athletic director Rick George has long believed in the vision Sanders has had for the program, and the two have been in lockstep since Coach Prime came to Boulder in December. Their hard work was shown against the Horned Frogs and the two shared an emotional moment together soon after the win:

While you can’t quite make out the words shared between George and Sanders, it was a great moment for CU football. Big things are ahead for the Buffaloes with these two running the show.

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Deion Sanders was ‘pushing’ for Colorado to rejoin the Big 12, says one head coach

Deion Sanders was reportedly “pushing” for Colorado to head back to the Big 12

Last Thursday, the Colorado Buffaloes announced that they would be leaving the Pac-12 to rejoin the Big 12 effective July 1, 2024. Colorado’s move and the conference’s struggle to complete a TV deal have had a domino effect on the Pac-12, leading to other schools making moves as well.

According to one ESPN report, Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders was impactful in Colorado’s move back to its old stomping ground. According to the report, one Big 12 head coach said, “Deion was pushing for it.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone with the profile of Sanders would do his best to pursue something he believed would be beneficial for his program. Colorado athletic director Rick George had the following to say about the move to the Big 12 and how it would positively affect what Sanders is trying to build in Boulder:

“I will tell you there’s tremendous benefits for being in the Big 12 for the direction that Coach Prime is going as it relates to recruiting,” George said. “Being able to play in Orlando against UCF, where he’s recruited very heavily. The state of Texas has always been a priority for us, and now playing four teams in that area… I tried to include all of our coaches in this, and Coach Prime certainly and I had conversations about this, as well as I did with other coaches.”

With Sanders now leading the Buffaloes program, Colorado has the ability to recruit nationally, and joining a conference where you can travel to states like Texas and Florida for competition will only help grow the Buffs brand.

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Colorado athletic director abruptly leaves Pac-12 media day after George Kliavkoff presser

Kliavkoff botched the #Pac12 media rights part of his long-anticipated remarks. Colorado AD Rick George went to the airport.

A few big stories dominated Pac-12 media day. The biggest story, whether anyone likes it or not, was Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff doing a relatively poor job of handling the topic national writers and commentators were primarily interested in: the Pac-12’s media rights negotiations. Kliavkoff’s remarks suggested that the Pac-12 had arrived at a deal or was extremely close to nailing down a deal. When pressed to clarify his remarks, Kliavkoff said no one should read too much into them.

Kliavkoff perpetuated the story and added to the lingering sense of uncertainty in the conference, instead of finding a middle-ground way to say that progress had been made in negotations, but not enough to have a fully-finalized deal.

Anyone in the room in Las Vegas could see that Kliavkoff bungled this very important moment, the comissioner’s most public and prominent moment after several months of radio silence on the matter while he engaged in negotiations and held lots of meetings with the Pac-12 CEO Group.

One person who didn’t stick around for the rest of Pac-12 media day after the Kliavkoff press conference early in the morning: Colorado Athletic Director Rick George.

In this show at The Voice of College Football with host Mark Rogers, Tony Siracusa of Last Word on College Football reported that George went straight to the airport to catch a flight out of Vegas after Kliavkoff’s unpolished moment in front of the cameras and the press. It was the clearest and most visible sign that Kliavkoff did not perform well in this very public setting.

That was one big story. Get a look at other big stories from around the Pac-12 on media day, including hilarious and shocking quotes from Utah coach Kyle Whittingham:

PHOTOS: Rick George’s 10-year tenure as Colorado AD

Take a photographic look back at Rick George’s 10-year tenure as CU athletic director

Love him or hate him, University of Colorado athletic director Rick George is riding high after shocking the college football world last winter with his hiring of Deion Sanders. Yes, it’s still unclear exactly how the 2023 season will pan out, but George deserves a great deal of credit for putting the Buffaloes back in the national spotlight.

Outside of football, CU men’s basketball put together a respectable past decade and the women’s team has been revitalized under head coach JR Payne.

With George celebrating his 10-year anniversary as Colorado’s athletic director on Monday, take a photographic look back at his tenure:

Rick George praises Deion Sanders’ use of the transfer portal

Rick George gave his thoughts on how Deion Sanders has utilized the transfer portal this offseason

The Colorado Buffaloes have to thank athletic director Rick George for going all out to land Deion Sanders as the head football coach.

Ever since Coach Prime was introduced, the Buffs have landed top recruits, top transfer portal players and have formed a coaching staff with a number of big names. The spring game was sold out, season tickets are sold out and the national media is soaking up every ounce of Colorado football.

One of the biggest storylines has been the transfer portal with a flurry of Buffs players leaving, although Coach Prime continues to land big-name recruits in the process.

George recently opened up about Sanders’ use of the portal in an interview with Brian Howell of BuffZone:

“(The rules were) put in place so that coaches in their first year would have an opportunity to change their roster around and coach has done it,” George told BuffZone. “(Sanders) has gone out and got some really good student-athletes to fill those voids. I’m looking forward to the summer and the fall and how they’re going to build culturally and as a team heading into our 100th season at Folsom Field.”

It sure has been a busy time in Boulder and a lot of big names have joined, including two of Coach Prime’s sons, Shedeur and Shilo Sanders.

Is there risk to his approach? Yes. But after a 1-11 season, change was needed.

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REPORT: Colorado, Big 12 have had ‘substantive’ talks regarding potential reunion

Per CBS Sports, Colorado has had close talks with the Big 12 about potentially rejoining the conference

As Colorado remains patient waiting for the Pac-12 to finalize a media rights deal, the university is also proactively forming its backup plan, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.

Dodd reported on Tuesday that Colorado has been in “substantive” in-person talks with the Big 12 regarding a potential reunion. However, Dodd still described the talks as no more than due diligence with athletic director Rick George repeating that Colorado’s ideal scenario is to stay in the Pac-12.

The report also stated that Colorado’s potential move to the Big 12 would need the green light from head football coach Deion Sanders.

Colorado and the Big 12 have met face-to-face while involved in consistent talks over a period several months, according to multiple sources. It was made clear that a move to the Big 12 would not be made without the support of football coach Deion Sanders.

CU’s rumored Big 12 interest was the talk of the Fiesta Summit earlier this month in Scottsdale, Arizona, with several sources speculating in the hallways. It became more public last week when the Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel reported, “Colorado is ready to commit joining the Big 12 ‘soon.'”

If the Buffs were to join the Big 12, the expectation is that “Colorado would receive an equal media rights share ($31.7 million, beginning in 2025),” per Dodd.

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Rick George responds to conference realignment rumors

Rick George gave an update on where Colorado currently stands with conference realignment

Colorado has little idea what its future will look like. With Pac-12 rumors swirling regarding a new media rights deal, expansion and potential realignment, the Buffs were also recently included in a Big 12 rumor, which isn’t anything new.

However, there has been no clarity as of yet from either side, and nobody has the slightest idea what will happen.

CU athletic director Rick George, though, recently gave an update on where his school stands as of now, per Brian Howell of BuffZone.

“You’ve got to believe about a third of what you see out there,” George told BuffZone. “We’re members of the Pac-12, we’re proud members of the Pac-12 and we’ve got to see where our media rights deal lands and where our conference goes. In a perfect world, we’d love to be in the Pac-12, but we also have to do what’s right for Colorado at the end of the day. We’ll evaluate things as we move forward.”

The Pac-12’s new media rights deal has been in the works for some time but has hit several snags, and the Big 12-Colorado rumors are something to monitor, especially with Deion Sanders coming in and revitalizing the football program.

Nonetheless, George knows he has to do what’s right for the program, and there could be a ton of changes coming to the Pac-12 with USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten in 2024.

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Rick George shares confidence in Deion Sanders’ rebuilding approach

Rick George reminded everyone that he’s confident in Deion Sanders’ rebuilding strategy

The Colorado Buffaloes football program is now constantly making national headlines regarding transfers and recruits. All of this is possible because of Deion Sanders.

On the other hand, a ton of players have left the program, and a few former players have said some interesting things about Coach Prime and his staff.

Nonetheless, University of Colorado athletic director Rick George remains in full support of Coach Prime (h/t Heather Dinich of ESPN):

“I have confidence in him and his staff and they know what they’re doing,” George told ESPN on Thursday following the Pac-12’s spring meetings. “… He’s been very honest and forthright. He’s been very open about it publicly and privately. He’s trying to build a winner at Colorado, and this is his way to do it.”

This isn’t surprising, and George had Coach Prime on his mind after he fired Karl Dorrell midway through last season.

Players are leaving and the roster looks completely different, but George is confident that this is the way to do it. Whether it works out or not remains to be seen, but Sanders has at least made CU football relevant once again.

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