Sports Illustrated announced Thursday that Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is the publication’s 2023 Sportsperson of the Year.

SI said in a press release that “Sanders’ blend of unparalleled athletic accomplishments and transformative impact on the football program, school and community of Boulder transcends sports and ripples throughout the culture.”

“Deion Sanders dominated the sports conversation in 2023 as a transformative figure not just in Colorado, but for the entire realm of college sports,” Stephen Cannella, editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated said in the release. “On and off the field, he represents a new model for the modern college coach. The Sportsperson of the Year honor, a distinction for some of the most legendary figures in sports over the past seven decades, is now enriched by the addition of Deion to its roster.”

“Coach Prime” is in the process of rebuilding the Buffs, turning a team that won one game in 2022 into one of the country’s most popular programs and biggest audience draws.

SI noted online team store sales have skyrocketed and every home game at Folsom Field saw a sold-out crowd for the first time in school history. The team drew record-setting viewership. Off the field, the publication wrote in the press release, the “Prime Effect” was felt in the Colorado admissions office — first-year, Black and nonresident applications have all surged at the school — and in the Boulder community, where football success has sparked an economic boom for local businesses.

The annual Sportsperson of the Year Issue goes on sale Dec. 14, with pre-sale orders available now. SI on Dec. 6 will honor Sanders with the 2023 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Award, alongside a season two screening of “Coach Prime” on the Colorado campus.

The docuseries from SMAC Productions takes fans inside the program for the 2023 season and premieres on Prime Video on Dec. 7.