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Why Deion Sanders is the most underrated coach in college football

Joe Pompliano explains why the Buffaloes head coach’s impact on the Colorado program - thanks to the ‘Flutie Effect’ - may be most powerful off the field.

Video Transcript

Deion Sanders is the most underrated coach in college football and I can prove it with data.

So Deion Sanders has a fully guaranteed $30 million contract at Colorado.

And many people say this is a good deal because tickets, merchandise and sponsorships are all up into the right.

But the truth is that Dion's real impact comes in the admissions office.

There is something called the Luie effect.

The general idea is that athletic success leads to academic success because nationally televised games are essentially free marketing for a school.

This is why Florida Gulf Coast saw a 27% jump in applications after making the sweet 16, 2013 or why Butler saw a 40% increase in applications after reaching the title game in 2010.

And the flu effect is even bigger in college football.

With the best example being how Alabama doubled its enrollment under Nick Saban.

We are already seeing this play out of Colorado with a 20% jump in applications just this year, but the school can only take in so many new students.

So the type of student is even more important, Colorado will now focus on adding out of state students who pay three times more in tuition than in state students leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the school.