Colorado has named Deion Sanders as its next head coach, the school announced in a statement Saturday.
The announcement came minutes after Sanders led Jackson State to its second straight SWAC title. Sanders, 55, has gone 27-5 at Jackson State in three seasons.
Jackson State defeated Southern 43-24 in the title game, capping the school’s first undefeated season.
“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said in the statement. “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”
Colorado fired Karl Dorrell in October after an 0-5 start and an 8-15 record overall in three years as coach. Mike Sanford filled in as interim coach and went 1-6 to close the year.
Sanders is an iconic American athlete and a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame. He played in the NFL for 14 seasons, won two Super Bowls and also played for several Major League Baseball teams from 1989 through 2001.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this story.