The inevitable became reality when Colorado's board of trustees unanimously voted Thursday to leave the Pac-12 and return to the Big 12 beginning in 2024. The Buffaloes brand, as noted by Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark during the conference's media days, has been front and center since hiring Deion Sanders last December. The potential for Prime to be a game-changing hire for the Buffaloes plays an obvious role in their immediate attractiveness, but that feeling was reciprocated by Sanders ahead of the unanimous (9-0) vote to return to a conference they once called home (in one form or another) for more than 60 years.
"If everything I'm hearing is true, I applaud our [Athletic Director] Rick George for choosing the best scenario for all athletics at CU," Sanders told 247Sports' Carl Reed. "This move is a game-changer and we plan on changing the game."
Sanders was hired to reignite a program that had fallen on hard times for more than a decade; the Buffs have been in the spotlight ever since. Sanders brought superstar sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders with him from Jackson State, and he turned over the majority of roster with the transfer portal. The anticipation of his first spring game was palpable.
The Buffaloes were considered a priority expansion target for the Big 12, which held "substantive" talks with Colorado earlier this offseason, multiple sources told Dodd in May. This despite CU publicly saying it desired to remain in the Pac-12 and would not make any decisions until a Pac-12 media rights deal could be reviewed by conference members.
"We are focused on concluding our media rights deal and securing our continued success and growth," the Pac-12 said in a statement. "Immediately following the conclusion of our media rights deal, we will embrace expansion opportunities and bring new fans, markets, excitement and value to the Pac-12."
The Big 12 released its own statement with a not-so-subtle nod to Michael Jordan's return to the Chicago Bulls from the Minor League Baseball's Birmingham Barons: "They're back." The Big 12 is expected to pursue more teams -- including current members of the Pac-12 -- according to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.
When Colorado departs the Pac-12 in 2024, it will conclude a 13-year tenure with the conference that it joined after spending the prior 63 years in various versions of the Big 12.
