The NCAA has a way of sucking the air out of the room, doesn't it? One minute, you have the most exciting proposal in a decade—a legitimate matchup between Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes and Fran Brown’s Syracuse Orange—and the next, it’s buried under a mountain of "fairness" and "timing" excuses.
Honestly, the whole situation is kind of a mess.
In late March 2025, Syracuse head coach Fran Brown and Colorado’s Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders tried to do something that actually made sense for college football. They filed for a waiver to hold a joint spring practice and a full-blown scrimmage in Boulder. The idea was simple: instead of teammates beating each other up for three hours in a stale intrasquad game, why not bring two rising programs together and give the fans a real show?
The NCAA said no. Of course they did.
Fran Brown Criticizes NCAA and Calls Out the "Old Guard"
When the news broke that the FBS Oversight Committee had officially blocked the move, Fran Brown didn't just give a boring corporate statement. He went after the logic of the decision-makers with a mix of humor and sharp reality.
Basically, Brown hinted that the messenger mattered just as much as the message. During a press conference in early April, he joked that if the proposal had come from coaches like North Carolina’s Bill Belichick or Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, the NCAA probably would have rolled out the red carpet.
"You know damn well that wasn't about to let Coach Primetime and Fran Brown be the first two dudes to do it," Brown told reporters. He followed that up with a quick "I'm just messing with you, NCAA," clearly trying to avoid a fine, but the point was made. It felt personal. It felt like the governing body wasn't ready to let two of the most vocal, disruptive (in a good way) Black coaches in the country rewrite the rulebook on their own terms.
Why the Blockage Matters
The spring game is dying. It's true. Major programs like Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio State have already started moving away from the traditional format or closing practices altogether. They're worried about injuries. They're worried about the transfer portal.
By blocking the Syracuse-Colorado matchup, the NCAA didn't just stop a game; they stopped a potential solution. Brown and Sanders weren't just looking for a TV slot. They had a whole curriculum planned. They were talking about joint study halls and financial literacy workshops. They wanted to create a "life-education" component that went beyond the gridiron.
Instead, the NCAA pointed to three things:
- Timing: Other schools had already finished or scheduled their practices.
- Recruiting Advantages: Only these two teams would get the "outside" exposure.
- Academics: The concern over players missing class for travel.
That last one is particularly funny when you consider these same athletes will be traveling halfway across the country on Tuesday nights for basketball or mid-week conference games in the new "super-conference" era.
The "Belichick" Factor and the Future of Spring Ball
The mention of Bill Belichick—who made the jump to North Carolina in late 2024—wasn't just a random name-drop. Brown was highlighting a perceived double standard. There is a sense in the coaching community that the "old guard" of the sport gets a pass on innovation while guys like Coach Prime are viewed with skepticism.
Brown's frustration is understandable. He led Syracuse to 10 wins in his first season (2024) and has been a recruiting firebrand. He knows that the current spring model is "monotonous," a word Sanders also used to describe the traditional format.
Despite the denial, this isn't the end of the road. The NCAA’s oversight committee did leave the door open, saying they would discuss a permanent rule change for the 2026 season. It’s a classic case of "not now, but maybe later."
The Real Impact on Players
When Fran Brown criticizes NCAA for this, he’s mostly looking out for the development of his roster. In a joint practice, you only have 11 guys on the field at once. In a traditional "two-spot" practice, you have 44. By narrowing the focus to a controlled scrimmage against another team, you actually reduce the total number of "car crashes" (as coaches call them) while increasing the quality of the reps.
It's safer. It’s more marketable. It generates more NIL money for the players. It’s everything the modern game says it wants to be, yet the bureaucracy couldn't get out of its own way in time for the April 19, 2025, date.
What Happens Next?
Syracuse ended up playing its own intrasquad game on April 12 in the JMA Wireless Dome. Colorado hosted their Black & Gold game on April 19 at Folsom Field. Both events were fine, but they weren't the "sold-out event" Brown predicted a joint matchup would have been.
If you're a fan of either team—or just a fan of common sense—here is how this likely plays out over the next 12 months:
- Watch for the 2026 Rule Change: The NCAA is slow, but the pressure from coaches like Mike Gundy (who wanted a spring Bedlam game) and Joey McGuire is mounting. We're probably going to see "Spring Exhibitions" legalized by next year.
- The "Home-and-Home" Model: Don't be surprised if Syracuse and Colorado try to run this back in 2026. Brown has already stated he thinks it will happen then.
- TV Network Pressure: ESPN and Fox want content. A spring game that actually matters is worth millions in ad revenue. When the networks start pushing, the NCAA usually moves a lot faster.
The "Prime Effect" isn't going away, and neither is Fran Brown's willingness to speak his mind. They’ve opened a door that the NCAA can't quite shut, even if they managed to bolt it for one season. The status quo is officially on life support.
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The best move now is to keep an eye on the June meetings for the FBS Oversight Committee. That's where the actual "legislative intent" for 2026 will be hammered out. If they don't change the rule by then, expect Brown to have plenty more to say about the "old guard" holding the sport back.
Actionable Insight: If you're a college football fan, start looking for your team's 2026 spring schedule much earlier than usual. The push for "inter-collegiate scrimmages" is the biggest trend in the sport right now. Follow the NCAA's legislative calendar in late spring 2025 to see if the Syracuse-Colorado model becomes the new national standard.