Deion Sanders is now headed to the Pac-12. Sanders told his team at Jackson State on Saturday night that he has agreed to become the next head football coach at Colorado. Once Sanders told the players at JSU, Colorado made the news official.

“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. “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.”

Sanders has spent the past three seasons as the head coach at Jackson State, an FCS program in Mississippi. During that span, Sanders has amassed a 27-5 overall record and two SWAC championships.

This season, Sanders has lead the Tigers to a 12-0 record, including a 43-24 victory over Southern in the SWAC title game Saturday.

Sanders acknowledged last week that Colorado offered him the job and that CU was “not the only one.” Sanders also decided to declined to go into his thought process about whether he would pursue another opportunity or stay at Jackson State. Saturday night, the answer to that question was answered.

At Colorado, Sanders will replace Karl Dorrell, who was fired in October after an 0-5 start to the season. The Buffs closed out their season with a loss to Utah last Saturday, giving them a 1-11 record on the year. Dorrell was hired in 2020 after Mel Tucker left Boulder for Michigan State. CU went 4-2 in 2020 and 4-8 in 2021.

Other than the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, Colorado has had just one other winning season since 2005. Colorado went 10-4 and won the Pac-12 South in 2016 under Mike MacIntyre. However, the school fired MacIntyre after going a combined 10-14 in 2017 and 2018. The hire of Sanders, the school is hoping to raise the profile of its football program. Sanders brought the national spotlight to Jackson State, winning high-profile recruiting battles off the field and games on the field.

CU chancellor Philip DiStefano released a statement about the hire.

“Deion Sanders’ stature transcends sports, and his hiring elevates not only the football program but the university as a whole. I’m thankful Deion has chosen to join our Buffalo family and I applaud Rick George for a truly inspired choice. This is an exciting new chapter in the long, storied history of Colorado football and I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our students, supporters and fans to cheer on “Coach Prime” and our student-athletes next fall.”