Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes sell out intrasquad spring football game in April

The University of Colorado announced Thursday that it has sold out its intrasquad spring football game April 22 — the latest evidence of the huge impact that Deion Sanders has had on the Buffaloes less than four months since his hiring as head coach in early December.

The overall attendance for the day will be over 45,000, obliterating the previous record spring game crowd in Boulder of 17,800 in 2008.

The game also will be nationally televised by ESPN, the only spring game that will air on the main ESPN network. The national champion Georgia Bulldogs are the only other program that will have its spring game televised on another ESPN network, in their case on ESPN2.

Both developments — the sellout and the national attention — come after the Buffaloes finished 1-11 last year and fired their coach, Karl Dorrell. Colorado replaced him with Sanders, the flamboyant former two-sport superstar who has since overhauled CU’s roster and brought millions of eyeballs to its programs through social media.

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The Buffs even charged admission to this spring game ($10), unlike years before, when a typical spring game might attract a few thousand fans. The university said the attendance for the April 22 scrimmage will also surpass the aggregate total of the last nine spring games combined.

The ESPN crew covering the action that day will include CU alumnus and broadcaster Chris Fowler, along with 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and fellow broadcaster Quint Kessenich.

Though the capacity at Folsom Field is more than 50,000, some of CU's premium event spaces will not be sold due to previous engagements, according to the university. The school also said a limited number of student tickets remain available for current CU Student Sports Pass holders to claim.

Last year marked the 15th time in 17 years that the Buffs finished with a losing record in football. But times have changed under Sanders, otherwise known as Coach Prime.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado hype under Deion Sanders continues with sold-out spring game