Leadership Lessons from the Football Field

If I’ve learned anything about leadership in my time at CU Boulder, it’s that excellence is rarely achieved by shrinking our ambitions.

So when it came time to find the next Buffs football coach, we knew we needed a leader who could establish an ambitious vision, galvanize the players and fans, and handle the pressures of reestablishing a powerhouse program.

We needed, as our motto suggests, to Be Boulder.

Our campus and our athletic director Rick George were fortunate to find that type of bold leadership in Deion Sanders.

In just a few months, “Coach Prime” has started the restoration process. Where there was discouragement and apathy, we are experiencing new waves of enthusiasm and support for the Colorado Buffaloes.

While I’m ecstatic to see Buffs fans optimistic again, I’m equally excited to see the ways Coach Prime is starting to make an impact off the field.

He attended the grand opening of the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) in February, and he’s spoken at the Leeds School of Business and Colorado Law. And he has been working with the College of Media, Communication and Information on a partnership that would help students develop skills in social media content creation.

As one campus unit worked to recruit a talented Black scientist for a position this spring, Coach Prime spent 45 minutes with her talking about CU Boulder. A recruiter never stops.

In all my years working alongside collegiate athletics, I have never encountered a head coach who has been so engaged with the rest of campus in such a short amount of time.

When skeptics question the hype around college athletics — and as an academic, I understand the concerns — I point to moments like this as evidence of how a top athletics program can positively impact the university’s reputation. An outstanding football program has the potential to add to the existing culture of excellence stemming from our research, teaching and creative work.

Leadership, particularly in times of change, can be uncomfortable. It is often met with suspicion, misunderstanding or criticism.

Coach Prime has shown he’s ready for all of it, bringing confidence, pride and optimism to bear. We cannot predict what the next season will hold, but I trust that good things will come when the CU Boulder community stands shoulder to shoulder.