Former PGA Tour executive Rick George enjoying his 'Prime Time' as Colorado athletic director

Rick George has first-hand experience of what it's like for the University of Colorado to have a national presence in college football when he worked there from 1987-1990.

That's why he's enjoying this year's ride with the Buffalos returning to prominence under coach Deion Sanders.

"There is excitement around our program again," said George, the Colorado athletic director who was the president of the PGA Tour Champions and then executive vice-president for Championship Management during his five-year stint with the Tour from 2003-2008. "It's only going to get better."

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Colorado won't be in the picture for a national championship and they're not going to win the Pac-12 title after going 1-4 following a 3-0 start.

But when the Buffs beat TCU in the opening game of the season, they matched last year's 1-11 record and victories over Nebraska, Colorado State and Arizona State generated even more nationwide interest in what Sanders, the former Florida State All-American and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has done in rejuvenating the program.

Buffalos are playing to sell-outs every week

Even with last week's 28-16 loss to UCLA, Sanders' impact was felt with a sell-out of the nearly 70,000 seats that were made available for sale in the Rose Bowl. Every Colorado game, home and away, has been sold out and George said capacity at Folsom Field has been 106 percent.

The Buffalos have averaged 53,292 in four home games this season, every one a hard sell-out. Last season, they averaged more than 10,000 less, 42,847.

That's not all. Colorado is making money for home teams when they go on the road, with an average attendance of 59,653.

It's keeping within a pattern when Sanders was at Jackson State from 2020-22. The Tigers set attendance records both home and away and when they played Tennessee State at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, 51,351 turned out, more than in all TSU home games combined in the previous two years.

When Jackson State played Bethune-Cookman in Jacksonville last year, it drew 22,373 -- more than quadrupling the Wildcats' home average.

"We had a full stadium for the spring game and we charged $10 to get in, which we've never done," George said.

Colorado's social media engagements are through the roof and George said applications for enrollment are up 40 percent. 60 Minutes visited Boulder — Sanders' second time on the Sunday night news magazine show in two years.

"I never thought I'd be interviewed for 60 Minutes in my life," George said. "You can't buy exposure like that for your program and your university."

George was in Boulder for a national title

Prime Time fever is reminding George about the heady days in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was the recruiting coordinator and assistant athletic director for football operations at Colorado when Bill McCartney was the coach. Colorado won a national championship in 1990 and George has never forgotten the atmosphere around Boulder, Colo., and across the nation at the time.

"The plan has been about building this team back to national prominence," George said. "We've had a history here, a lot of success, and I was here during those days. We've got to get back to that, where we're competing for and winning championships."

George made the move when he fired Karl Dorrell after an 8-15 record and became the first athletic director to give Sanders a chance at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

After Sanders led Jackson State to a 27-6 record in three seasons, he was, in one way, a hot commodity. But there was an undercurrent that perhaps Sanders was too much flash and dash and in love with his "Coach Prime" image for a Power 5 program

George brushed that aside and said he made the best decision for the program.

"Deion has always had a plan, and he's executing on that plan," George said. "His attention to detail, his organization, his execution is the reason for his success. He's a very, very smart coach and a great motivator. He's got a set of core values — faith, accountability, discipline — that were very important to him and it's exactly what we needed."

Deion Sanders making an impact off the field

George said the product on the field is only a part of what Sanders has demanded of his players. Exhibit A: The grade point average for the Colorado football team in Sanders' first semester as coach, was a record 2.9.

Prime Mania has cooled off a bit with two losses in a row and the rest of the schedule isn't easy with home games against No. 16 Oregon State and Arizona, and road games to close the season at Washington State and No. 18 Utah.

There's always the chance Sanders could move on to the NFL — perhaps when his sons Shedour (the Buffs' starting quarterback) and Shiloh (a starting defensive back) leave the program. There is already chatter about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones perhaps making a push for Sanders, who played five seasons with the Cowboys.

George believes, optimistically, that Sanders is in Boulder for the long haul.

"His plan is for us to compete at the highest level, in a conference and the nation ... all the things we aspire to," George said.

George has fond memories of Ponte Vedra

George, a four-year letter winner at Illinois, has had a diverse resume since leaving Colorado the first time and then returning as the athletic director in 2013. In addition to his time at the PGA Tour he was an assistant athletic director at Vanderbilt from 1991-98, was the president and CEO of Fore!Kids Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that raised money for children’s charities with golf-related events, then came to Ponte Vedra to work for the Tour.

George left the Tour to become the chief operating officer for the Texas Rangers, then served as the president of business operations. His contract has been extended twice at Colorado.

He said working for the PGA Tour "was a great experience."

"I loved running the Champions Tour," he said. "It was one of the best jobs I've ever had."

But he's got a pretty good one now, a ride as wild as climbing on the back of Ralphie, the Buffalo mascot who charges onto Folsom Field for every Colorado home game.

"It's been a lot of fun," George said.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Rick George is enjoying Colorado being part of the national conversation