The Colorado Buffaloes have started their fall training camp. However, Coach Prime has not forgotten that the NCAA denied the Buffs a simple request for a spring scrimmage. While raising the issue again, Deion Sanders also pointed out that the governing body has been permitted FCS teams while denying his sub-division.

“That’s something I’ve been suggesting for quite some time, and the NCAA felt compelled to allow FCS teams to do so,” said HC Deion Sanders on a potential scrimmage with Air Force, as reported by Oliver Hayes on August 6. “Even if we could practice in the same facility, we don’t have to compete against one another.”

After his proposal to practice with Fran Brown’s Syracuse team was shot down twice, Coach Prime has a new team in mind. This time, he is hoping for an exhibition against an in-state program like Air Force.

For Coach Prime, the rule strictly holding back Football Bowl Subdivision teams makes little sense when the NCAA has “allowed FCS teams to do so.” There has been some favoritism by the NCAA toward FCS. This time, to ensure the joint training actually happened, he came prepared with facts showing that the NCAA is not being fair to FBS.

Under existing NCAA bylaws, Division II and Division III football programs are legally permitted to use one of their designated spring practice dates to conduct a joint scrimmage against an outside university. The NCAA allows such practices for smaller schools to help them save money on roster depth and reduce injuries.

Coach Prime has also questioned why basketball, baseball, and soccer are allowed to schedule exhibition matches against outside universities. Football programs are rigidly restricted from hitting their own teammates in intrasquad games.

It all started in 2025, when the NCAA declined Colorado and Syracuse’s request to hold a joint practice. The reason they gave was that they filed the paperwork in March after most other institutions had already finalized their traditional spring formats.

Colorado and Syracuse again submitted their request to hold a joint practice much earlier for the 2026 cycle. However, the NCAA rejected it again, stating that it would not grant special relief to just two specific programs.

“Circumstances do not warrant relief of the legislation,” the NCAA wrote, saying that the rule currently prohibits joint spring practices. When pressed, an NCAA spokeswoman said, [they] “didn’t want to approve outside competition in the spring without a more complete review of the calendar.”

If his proposal does get approved, it will be a feast for the fans. A springtime gridiron battle between the Buffaloes and the Falcons will be a feast for the fans. The two teams could arrange it next year if the NCAA approves. The last time the two teams met was back in 2022, when the Falcons defeated the Buffs.

This setup won’t even include weekday class disruptions and heavy travel expenses. These have been the main reasons the NCAA has rejected them repeatedly.