Coach Prime came out of pocket for Southern Heritage Classic while at Jackson State: Colorado football source
Coach Prime reportedly came out of pocket to pay for the Southern Heritage Classic during his Jackson State coaching tenure, according to a source who spoke with BuffsBeat's Jason Jones, which was why current Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders railed against the Tigers' involvement in the game. JSU obliged, pulling out of the contract, and the payout for doing so was settled on February 19.
"Sanders was frustrated with the one-sided deal that left Jackson State scrounging up money to make the trip to western Tennessee for more of a 'battle of the bands' with a football game as an undercard event," Jones prefaced before saying, "According to a source, the Hall-of-Famer was pulling from his pockets to make the situation whole. However, Coach Prime was vocal about what needed to change, and JSU pulled out of the contract with Summit Management Corporation, who puts on the event."
Per HBCU Gameday, the price tag Jackson State must pay for voiding the agreement is a substantial one.
"According to a Freedom of Information Act filed by the Clarion Ledger, an $800,000 settlement was reached for opting out for the 2023 and 2024 games between JSU and Tennessee State," the HBCU Gameday Newswire staff wrote. "SMC sought $1.8 million in damages for the 2023 and 2024 games from JSU after it announced that it would not participate in the game back in 2022. JSU entered into a contract with SMC in 2019 to play in the game for five seasons, through the 2024 season. SMC also sought more than $5 million in damages per year from the SWAC which it claims interfered with the deal between JSU and SMC."
Coach Prime moved sons to Colorado football from JSU for their betterment
HBCU funding, despite the spotlight shone on them by NBA stars like LeBron James, has not been close to where it needs to be relative to the funding most state schools receive. Jackson State, which is in Mississippi's wildly underfunded capital city, is a notable offender. In fact, fellow Magnolia State HBCU Alcorn State was just found to have seen its funding sent to Mississippi State instead.
Had Coach Prime kept his sons at JSU, many would be complaining about how they are ducking better competition. In moving them with him in a step up in competition, and in general qualify of life, to play for Colorado football and live in Boulder, Sanders did everything in his power to boost his sons into the NFL draft conversation.