A return to the Big 12 could be exactly what Deion Sanders needs to turn Colorado around.
While Colorado has largely struggled on the football field since leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-12 over a decade ago, a potential return to its former conference could be huge for Deion Sanders' program.
With the Big 12 looking to expand once again after Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC in 2024, rumors are circulating that it could be Colorado and Memphis coming aboard the revamped 14-team league. CU would have opportunities to rekindle Big Eight, Big 12 rivalries with the likes of Kansas State upon joining, while Memphis would be a huge Mid South addition to the Power Five.
Here is why Colorado potentially switching leagues may be the best thing for Coach Prime's team.
Why Colorado going back to the Big 12 could be huge for Deion Sanders' program
Look. Even with the overall viability of the Pac-12 still very much in flux, Colorado would be an interesting asset in potentially the next wave of realignment for a league like the Big 12. The state may only have one Power Five university, but Denver is a massive metropolis, the biggest in the Mountain Time Zone. More importantly, the Big 12 stands to be ultra-competitive in this iteration.
With College Football Playoff expansion happening in 2024, we are probably going to enter a world where the Big 12 gets around two teams in annually, maybe even three in some years? Last season would have put TCU and Kansas State in a 12-team format. Baylor and Oklahoma State would have made the field in 2021. Oklahoma and Iowa State would have made it back in 2020.
So why would this make things easier for Coach Prime and Colorado? Well, first things first. With Oklahoma and Texas leaving the league, that leaves a power void for someone to go and take. It's probably not going to be CU, but it could be. If the Buffs have unity between university, athletic department and coaching staff, they could have success like Baylor and TCU have had recently.
Even though Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU may have a leg up on other Big 12 programs going forward, CU wouldn't be in the same league with traditional powers like Oregon and Washington. Factor in Rocky Mountain rival Utah being an elite program as well, it might be harder for the Buffaloes to theoretically make the playoff if they were to stay put in the Pac-12.
The other big aspect in this is the Big 12 may go back to a divisional format with 14 teams in 2024. During the Gary Barnett era of Buffaloes football, CU benefited greatly from playing in the old Big 12 North with the likes of Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska. Not having to play in the same division as the Oklahoma and Texas schools made things way easier!
Even if the Big 12 stays division-less and looks to expand beyond even 14 teams, the appeal to going over there has everything to do with unclaimed and untrodden territory with Oklahoma and Texas out of the equation. The new Big 12 may not produce a top-three team with great regularity, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a season where this 14-team league doesn't get two teams in.
The only real barrier for success in a new-look Big 12 for Colorado may merely be barrier to entry.