Announced by the university today, Colorado is retiring the jerseys of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter during the spring game this Saturday on April 19. As a Buffs grad, I absolutely love this. Say what you want but these two earned it.
You can argue all day about where they stack up historically, but I’ll say it: they’ve already surpassed the legacies of Kordell Stewart and Rashaan Salaam. And that’s not shade — Kordell’s No. 10 should be up there too — but Shedeur and Travis redefined Colorado football in the Prime Era.
Not everyone’s thrilled about the decision already. I’ve already seen a lot of fans saying Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter don’t deserve to have their numbers retired because they didn’t play their entire college careers at Colorado. But with the way the transfer portal has reshaped college football, we might be entering a new era where staying at one school for four years is not going to happen anymore.
And what better day to honor them than the spring game? With 30 new faces on the roster, five-star QB Julian Lewis taking early reps, and Coach Prime entering year three, this isn’t just a scrimmage. It’s the dawn of a new era — and a nod to the stars who kicked it all off.
Furthermore, maybe this announcement will be the spark Colorado needs to boost spring game attendance. As first reported by Brian Howell, CU had only sold 9,650 tickets for the Black & Gold Spring Game as of Friday morning — a steep drop from the 28,424 fans who showed up in 2024 and the record-setting 47,277 who braved the snowstorm in 2023 to witness Coach Prime’s debut.
Retiring Shedeur Sanders' and Travis Hunter’s numbers could reignite fan excitement and drive a late surge in ticket sales, turning April 19 into the celebration it’s meant to be.