On Monday, the University of Colorado decided to honor the legacies of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders forever by announcing that their jerseys would be retired as part of their Spring Game festivities on Saturday. This has led to some pushback, notably from Denver sports anchor Scotty Gange.
Following the news, Gange, a sports anchor at 9News in Denver, shared his thoughts on this decision, claiming it was primarily to “sell more Spring Game tickets” and appease head coach (and Shedeur’s father) Deion Sanders.
“I absolutely disagree with this decision,” said Gange on Monday night’s edition of 9News. “Hunter, as a Heisman winner, I can understand. Then again, Rashaan Salaam had to wait 23 years for his number retirement. But Shedeur seems like a forced plus-one here. Quarterbacking your team to a 10-7 record over two years and ending with a blowout loss in the Alamo Bowl does not qualify you for immediate jersey retirement. CU has so much history and so many legends in their 135 years. And perhaps one day would be the right day to retire Shedder’s number. But not today. I feel like the school felt like they had to do it to please the head coach. And oh yeah, maybe sell some more tickets to the spring game. At least they aren’t retiring Shilo’s number as well…”
To Shedeur Sanders’ credit, he achieved some great things during his time in Colorado. In his two years in Boulder, he broke several program records, including the single-season passing yards, passing touchdowns, and the single-game passing yards record in 2023.
That said, while Sanders undoubtedly helped leave the Colorado program in a better place than when he joined the team, their success isn’t exactly something that leaps off the page when you think of the greatest players ever to put on a Colorado Buffaloes uniform. The teams Sanders played on will be remembered more for the hype surrounding them than for their on-field accomplishments.
This isn’t the first time Gange has put himself out there with a Colorado sports hot take. He courted criticism in the past by accusing Colorado Rockies star Kris Bryant of being a “bank robber” over his big contract and many injuries. He also took Deion Sanders to task for trying to intimidate reporters before the 2024 college football season.
Considering all of the criticism Deion Sanders has received over the past two years for a perceived favoritism to his sons and being a bit of a control freak regarding what happens with his football program, this decision certainly won’t quell any of those conversations.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.