Rick Neuheisel is returning to the state where he landed his first head-coaching job to lead Colorado’s new United Football League franchise.
The Colorado Springs franchise is one of two new teams, along with Rhode Island, to launch during the UFL’s 2027 season this coming spring.
Neuheisel, at just 34, was tabbed to coach the Colorado Buffaloes following Bill McCartney’s retirement in 1994. In Neuheisel’s four seasons in Boulder, the Buffs went 33-14, which included bowl wins after the 1995, 1996 and 1998 seasons.
In his first two seasons in Boulder, Neuheisel led the Buffs to 10-2 records, finishing fifth in the final 1995 AP poll and eighth in 1996. The program plummeted from its perch as a perennial top-25 outfit in 1997, going 5-6. After Colorado finished 8-4 in 1998, Neuheisel bolted to Washington on a seven-year deal that paid him nearly three times the $650,000 he was making annually at Colorado.
He led Washington to a Rose Bowl victory after the 2000 season, but was fired in June 2003 for betting on NCAA basketball tournaments and lying to school officials about it, the university said. Neuheisel sued the NCAA and the University of Washington over the termination of his employment contract, and was awarded a $4.5 million settlement.
After working in the NFL as an assistant on the Baltimore Ravens from 2005 to 2007, Neuheisel returned to the college ranks, leading his alma mater, UCLA, from 2008 to 2011, where he was 21-28.
Neuheisel also previously coached the Arizona Hotshots in the Alliance of American Football, earning a 5–3 record before the league folded midway through its inaugural season. He coached the Dallas Renegades of the UFL, which plays its games in the spring, for the 2026 season.
Neuheisel also works as an analyst for CBS during the college football season.
Colorado's UFL franchise will play at Weidner Field, home of Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the United Soccer League.
