Colorado Football Self-Reported 11 Minor Violations Since Hiring Sanders

The Colorado football program self-reported 11 minor NCAA violations since the hiring of head coach Deion Sanders back in December of 2022. 

According to USA Today, the violations were not serious enough to warrant any severe penalties. 

Some of the violations were in relation to Sanders' own use of social media, as well as the team's transfer-heavy recruiting approach, which at times conflicted with NCAA regulations. 

USA Today which obtained the documents, reported that in one case a security breakdown led to an impermissible “gameday simulation” for a recruit, followed by a write-up from the NCAA that said “future similar violations may result in more significant penalties including suspension of the head coach from a contest.”

The school self-reported 16 violations in all, with 11 attributed to 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, "the statement said. "We take all infractions seriously, regardless of the severity, and in these specific cases, these minor infractions were all self-reported to the NCAA."

Specifically, the violations included, among other items, a transfer portal violation, another for receiver Aaron Butler's oral commitment to Colorado during an Instagram Live session held by Sanders, and another for a yoga session led by a person who was not listed as a strength and conditioning coach. 

While all of the violations were minor, Joshua Lens, an assistant professor at Arkansas who previously worked in NCAA rules compliance at Baylor, told USA Today they do matter. 

“Issues can really arise when Level III (minor) violations are undiscovered, unaddressed, and/or consistently pertain to the same bylaw,” said Joshua Lens, an assistant professor at Arkansas who previously worked in NCAA rules compliance at Baylor.