Deion Sanders' Proposed Spring Game Between Colorado, Syracuse Rejected by NCAA

An NCAA committee is recommending against a proposed spring game between Colorado and Syracuse.

The two schools jointly filed paperwork requesting a waiver from the Division-I FBS Oversight Committee to hold the scrimmage, Syracuse.com's Javon Edmonds reported last Saturday.

The oversight committee will recommend against a waiver in part because of the timing of the programs' request, which came when other programs are well into or wrapping up their own spring programs, according to a memo published by the NCAA.

The committee expressed additional concern surrounding "competitive and recruiting advantages" gained by those participating in the programs, as well as student-athletes missing additional spring class time.

The contest was proposed to take place on April 19, when Colorado's intrasquad spring game and Syracuse's last spring practice are currently scheduled, per The Athletic's Jenna West.

The committee agreed to meet again to discuss "a concept that could permit joint spring practices in future seasons." The committee's next two meetings are scheduled for April 10 and May 8.

Sanders was first to propose the idea when he said during a March 17 press conference he believed intrasquad spring games "kind of get monotonous."

"You really can't tell the level of your guys, becasue it's the same old, same old, everybody kind of knows each other... I would like to style it like the pros. I'd like to go against someone for a few days, and then you have the spring game," Sanderssaid.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown responded the same day on X by tagging Sanders and offering to "come to Boulder for 3 days."

During a March 22 news conference, Brown said he believed holding joint practices every spring would "help the game," per Edmonds.

“Nobody wants to have spring games anymore. Nobody wants to worry about the portal," Brown said, per Edmonds.

Colorado's spring game is set to be nationally televised on ESPN2.