Colorado has recently issued a public apology and condemnation of derogatory, religion-based chants that some of its fans directed at BYU during a football game, and key university and athletic figures have spoken out strongly against the behavior. The Big 12 Conference also fined and publicly reprimanded Colorado over the incident, which pushed Colorado leaders and Coach Deion Sanders to make very explicit supportive statements toward BYU and its community.

What Colorado said about BYU

  • The University of Colorado Boulder released an official statement “strongly” condemning the expletives and religious slurs used by individuals in the stands during the BYU game, calling the behavior “deeply disappointing” and contrary to the school’s values of respect, inclusion and integrity. The school emphasized that attending games is a privilege and that fans are expected to follow the CU fan code of conduct, with violators subject to consequences.
  • Colorado’s leadership (including the chancellor and athletic director) framed the chants as inconsistent with what the university stands for and indicated that steps would be taken to hold those responsible accountable.

Deion Sanders’ remarks

  • Head coach Deion Sanders publicly apologized for the fan behavior and distanced the program from the chants, acknowledging that they crossed a line from trash talk into attacks on faith.
  • Sanders explicitly addressed BYU, saying, “BYU, we love you, we appreciate you and we support you. God bless,” making clear that the Colorado football program does not endorse discriminatory language or anti-Latter-day Saint sentiment.

Big 12 reprimand and fine (context)

  • The Big 12 Conference issued Colorado a public reprimand and a 50,000‑dollar fine under its sportsmanship policies because of the discriminatory chants directed at BYU and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  • In announcing the sanction, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said that “hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference” and noted that while the league appreciated Colorado’s apology, it maintains a zero‑tolerance stance toward such behavior.

How BYU responded

  • BYU issued a brief public statement denouncing all forms of religious discrimination and thanking Colorado for its example in trying to root out inappropriate behavior.
  • BYU also encouraged fans everywhere to show their support with enthusiasm but with respect, reinforcing that intense rivalries do not justify attacks on religion or identity.

TL;DR: Colorado condemned and apologized for fan chants that included expletives and religious slurs toward BYU, with Deion Sanders going out of his way to say Colorado “loves” and “supports” BYU, while the Big 12 fined and reprimanded Colorado to reinforce that discriminatory language is not acceptable in the conference.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.