Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team kick off their 2026 campaign with a spring scrimmage against Fran Brown’s Syracuse on April 11 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. The joint spring football practice between the Buffaloes and the Orange will be held for the second consecutive year without the NCAA’s approval, as the NCAA denied both schools’ requests, citing rules that prohibit interschool spring games.
Colorado-Syracuse Spring Scrimmage To Push Through on April 11 Amid NCAA Denial
The Buffaloes announced on various media platforms, including their website and social media, that they are scheduled to play the Orange in the university’s Black & Gold Day, sponsored by telecommunications giant AT&T, on April 11. Syracuse confirmed the scrimmage on Feb. 16.
It would be a chance for Colorado and Syracuse to test their teams months before the new season kicks off, with the Buffaloes bringing in more than 50 new players to complement redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Lewis. An open practice will be held for fans before the scrimmage, and the Buffaloes mascot, Ralphie VII, is scheduled to make her first Black & Gold Day run.
Colorado hopes to draw another large crowd to Folsom Field, with Sanders and the Buffaloes at the center of the festivities. Coach Prime’s first spring game appearance for the Buffaloes in 2023 drew 47,277 fans. The following year, 28,424 tickets were distributed for the exhibition, and 20,430 attended last year’s spring game.
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The announcement came despite the NCAA Division I FBS oversight committee’s rejection of Sanders’ request, which noted that a subcommittee is reviewing the entire football calendar and that existing rules prohibit inter-school spring games.
“If two teams are doing it, what that would lead to is, ‘Gosh, if Syracuse and Colorado are doing this, why can’t Florida State and name-a-school,’” said committee chair Mark Alnutt, who is the athletic director of the University at Buffalo.
Coach Prime, who played for Florida State in college and for various NFL teams, including the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys, has advocated for a new format for spring football practices. Under Sanders’ proposal, teams would compete against each other using the NFL model, based on the belief that some players will face the same situation after exhausting their collegiate eligibility and entering the professional ranks.
Colorado requested a waiver in 2025, citing Division II’s allowance of spring scrimmages against other teams. The university noted that organizing such practices would reduce the risk of player injuries. Under this setup, only 11 players from one team would be allowed on the field against another team, rather than 22 for one team in an intrasquad practice.
By contrast, other Division I programs, such as Texas, Nebraska, and Southern California, had scheduled intrasquad games during the period but canceled them for various reasons, including the risk of injury if they had gone ahead with the concept.
Aside from Alnutt, the 19-member NCAA Division I FBS oversight committee comprises Illinois coach Bret Bielema, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea, Miami (Fla.) athletic director Dan Radakovich, Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, and Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh.
