It appears that Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders violated an NCAA rule last fall regarding his recruitment of high-profile quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis. According to documents obtained by USA Today, Sanders committed a minor recruiting infraction when he mentioned Lewis by name during his live-streamed weekly coaches show.
Lewis was referenced twice on the program, which breaches NCAA regulations prohibiting schools from publicizing or commenting on a recruit prior to an official signing. The first mention occurred when the show’s host inquired about Lewis’s recent commitment to Colorado, though they tactfully avoided naming him. However, Sanders was less cautious, saying, “Hey, get JuJu on the phone and get his pop on the phone. See if his dad want to come down and just sit down and chop it up with me,” as reported by USA Today.
Deion further commented about Lewis’s father, saying, “He sat in my office I think a few weeks ago for a couple hours. 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 show was subsequently removed from YouTube a few hours after the violation was recognized.
The second infraction arose just a week later when another host mentioned Lewis by name while asking Sanders a question. Although Sanders did not directly reference Lewis, the host’s mention led to another violation. While technically a breach of NCAA rules, it’s important to note that minor violations like these are relatively common in college sports, and teams typically face little to no punishment unless such infractions become part of a larger pattern or go unreported.
