The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents has stressed that the new athletic director, Fernando Lovo, should prioritize building relationships with Colorado high schools.
This emphasis contrasts with head football coach Deion Sanders’ recruiting strategy, which largely focuses on transfer players and out-of-state high school talent.
Sanders has signed only three Colorado high school recruits in his last three classes and does not make off-campus recruiting visits.
Deion Sanders’ new athletic director at Colorado has made a commitment to do something that Sanders hasn’t really done in his three years as Colorado’s football coach – build relationships with Colorado high schools and improve recruiting ties with them.
This change is a priority for the new athletic director, Fernando Lovo, according to the University of Colorado Board of Regents. The regents approved Lovo’s hiring at a meeting on Monday Dec. 29 and got a commitment from Lovo to improve relations with Colorado high schools, according to one of the nine board members, Frank McNulty.
By contrast, Sanders himself barely has any relations with Colorado high schools, according to his recruiting practices. He doesn’t make off-campus recruiting visits to high schools and has signed only three Colorado high school recruits to football scholarships in his last three recruiting classes of 43 high school players combined.
But McNulty said at the board meeting that Lovo has promised to emphasize ‘relationships within the state of Colorado and particularly with our high school coaches, not just for football and basketball, but for all of our student-athletes in the state of Colorado.”
The Board of Regents governs the University of Colorado system and approves the contracts of Colorado’s chancellor, athletic director and head football coach. Lovo, 37, previously served as the athletic director at New Mexico and will start his new job as Sanders’ boss on Jan. 1. Whether Lovo will tell Sanders to change his recruiting strategy to meet this new in-state commitment isn’t clear, but USA TODAY Sports contacted McNulty to learn more about it.
What does this emphasis mean for Deion Sanders?
McNulty didn’t mention Sanders by name or single out football. But football is the university’s biggest sport in terms of visibility, revenue, players and coaches.
“It’s important to me that the University of Colorado is active in high school athletics, that we support our high school coaches and that we build those relationships and appreciate this candidate’s emphasis on that and his commitment to it,” McNulty said at the meeting.
USA TODAY Sports followed up with McNulty after the meeting and asked if these comments were in reference to Sanders’ lack of Colorado recruits and the fact he doesn’t make off-campus recruiting trips, unlike other coaches.
“While we hear from Colorado high school coaches and parents about football, it’s not just football,” McNulty replied. “CU’s athletic programs need to be present for coaches and student athletes in Colorado high schools. It is our responsibility and our opportunity as the state’s flagship university. Recruiting visits are certainly a part of it. It’s also building relationships. These are priorities that we discussed with Director Lovo. While I don’t expect CU Boulder or (UC Colorado Springs) to land every top athlete from Colorado high schools, I do expect these young men and women to know that CU is an option for them.”
Lovo wasn’t available for comment.
Deion Sanders takes different approach
Sanders has relied on transfer players from other universities to build his roster and has said he’s more selective about which high school players he takes. He also has liked to recruit players from Florida, Texas and the South.
His 2025 freshman class included three players from Georgia, three from Florida, two from Tennessee, two from Texas and one from Colorado. In June, Colorado also hosted football camps for high school and younger players in Boulder, but Sanders wasn’t there because he was recovering from bladder surgery.
For the 2026 freshman class, Sanders then signed only one Colorado high school recruit to a scholarship − offensive lineman Josiah Manu from Loveland, who ranked as the 18th best recruit in the state, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. The 17 players ranked above Manu all signed with colleges outside the state, such as Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma and UCLA.
By contrast, Colorado coaching legend Bill McCartney once signed 12 in-state players to his team in 1984 as he built the program toward a national championship in 1990.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com