Colorado A.D. Rick George has message for Big Ten, SEC
Rick George didn't exactly parrot one of the many catchphrases of his second-year football coach Deion Sanders and say, "We ain't hard to find."
But Colorado's veteran athletics director, who stirred the college football and NFL worlds when he hired Coach Prime away from Jackson State in December 2022, came pretty close Tuesday in a wide-ranging media session with reporters.
Asked about the place of the Colorado Buffaloes and Big 12 Conference on the largest stage of college football -- the sport's 12-team College Football Playoff, George both embraced the current format and the potential for competition, well, anywhere with anyone.
The Big 12 is guaranteed just one spot in this year's first-ever 12-team format, though Iowa State and BYU both are undefeated while Colorado, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Utah all have just one loss apiece almost to the season's midpoint.
"You can read what you want to read out there," George said. "I think the public would like to see a playoff similar to basketball, where you earn your way in. I think the process that we have right now, where there are five automatic bids (for conference champions) with seven at large bids, I think that’s where it should be. I think that’s what people want to see. They want to see people earn their right to be in that."
Of his own choosing, George brought up the reported ongoing discussions between Big 10 Conference and SEC leaders.
He said neither the Buffs nor the Big 12 would shy away from competition.
"Look, the Big Ten and SEC, I’m glad they’re having conversations," George said, "but there’s no liability in the Big 12.
"We can compete against those two conferences, we will compete against those conferences and we’ll let the chips fall where they may. I like where we’re at at CU, I’m thrilled that we’re in the Big 12 and we’ve had a lot of success here and I think we’ll see a lot of success in the days to come."
Colorado has started 4-1 in Deion Sanders's second season at the helm, with wins in its first two Big 12 contests.
That's enough for George to proclaim his big-picture vision for Colorado football with Deion Sanders at the helm.
"We hope that Coach Prime finishes his career here," George told reporters. "We think he can do significant things for us longterm with longevity.
"For us, and I think Coach would sit here and tell you, we're on the same page with where we want this program to go. I think what he's done has been incredible; I like the culture he's created, and I see it on a daily basis with his student-athletes and his coaches. There's a lot to do still moving forward, and we’re on same page with that."
The Buffaloes host No. 18 Kansas State this week under the lights at Folsom Field. The primetime contest on ESPN marks more exposure for Coach Prime's Buffaloes, who are 8-9 since Sanders took over the program but are consistently among the most-watched teams in the sport.
"I think it’s significant, not only for our department but for the university, the Boulder community and, in some ways, the Front Range," George said of the TV exposure, which has seen Colorado football already featured this season on CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC and set for ABC later this month. "When you have that much viewership on your program, it means a lot. It lifts up all of our programs.
"The fact that we’re on these major networks is really valuable to our department, our conference and the networks as well."
