Deion Sanders Challenges Colorado Fans in Folsom Field Ahead of Home Opener

Deion Sanders heard about the traveling support from Colorado Buffaloes fans in Week 1 and wants Folsom Field full on Saturday.

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on during a time out in the game against the Utah Utes during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech called a White Out and filled Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field with 52,113 people in Week 1. The Colorado Buffaloes sold roughly 1,000 tickets from their requested allotment, but coach Deion Sanders heard the visiting support anyway.

“Hats off to Buff Nation. I really think we have the best fans in the country,” Sanders said Tuesday.

Sep 3, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders arrives before the game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The stadium went quiet when Colorado tight end Charlie Williams caught the go-ahead touchdown with 37 seconds left. Then the Colorado section erupted inside a building dressed mostly in white.

The trip also came on a Thursday night, two weeks after fall classes began in Boulder. That made the late noise stand out even more to Sanders, who brought up the travelling support again five days later.

Deion Sanders Wants Folsom Field to Replicate the ‘Atlanta Atmosphere’

Colorado fans celebrate after the Buffaloes won a college football game against Colorado State at Folsom Field on Saturday, Sep. 16, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sanders’ praise came with a request. Weber State visits Boulder on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT on ESPN+ for the home opener, and Sanders was direct about what he wants in the seats.

“We want to sell this thing out. We want our fans to come out in droves, as they did in Atlanta,” Sanders said.

Sanders also pointed back to last season, when Colorado finished 3-9, but the fans still showed up and showed out.

The Folsom Field Numbers Softened Last Season

The request carries more weight after last year. Colorado sold out every home game in 2023, the first full-season sellout in program history, and the demand held through a nine-win 2024.

Then came 3-9. Colorado drew over 40,000 fans for Arizona (its final home game of last season and the smallest crowd of the Sanders era). However, three weeks earlier, nearly 50,000 people attended the loss to Arizona, which had been the previous low.

May 2, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; A young fan celebrates catching a foul ball in the first inning between the Atlanta Braves against the Colorado Rockies. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Season ticket sales also slipped. Colorado had sold 20,248 season tickets for 2026 as of early July, after selling 23,987 in 2025, with 78.3 percent of the previous year’s season ticket holders renewing. CU had increased its season ticket inventory by nearly 3,000 in 2025, so the year-over-year totals are not a direct comparison.

Colorado’s spring game crowds had already moved in the same direction. The 2025 game drew 20,430, the smallest of Sanders’ first three spring games, after 47,277 packed Folsom in 2023.

Coach Prime on Buff Nation:

“I really think we have the best fans in the country. Knowing what transpired on the field last year was lackluster effort at times…

But they showed up in Atlanta and showed out.” 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9XRPQaSlbn

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) September 8, 2026

Sanders had acknowledged the slide before. When a 24-14 loss to Kansas State closed Colorado’s -9 season last November, he said the people supporting the program deserved better.

“This fan base, the school, everybody, everybody deserves much better than this,” Sanders said then. “I expected much better than this. Nine months later, he is asking those fans to fill Folsom Field for the first home game of a new season.

Deion Sanders Isn't Selling Weber State as a Walkover

Weber State is Colorado’s only non-FBS opponent this season, and Sanders used Tuesday morning to keep a 1-0 start in perspective.

“Y’all think y’all doing something?” Sanders asked the room, according to video posted by ReachThePeople, before reminding his players they were one of 85 Division I teams sitting at 1-0.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

That message to the locker room did not change what Sanders wants from the seats Saturday.

“So, if we have tickets left, please sell this thing out so these kids can understand what I’ve been talking about forever and how wonderful this fan base is,” Sanders said.

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