What makes college football different from so many other sports are the traditions. Such traditions to name a couple include the fight songs and in-state rivalries. Another tradition however that makes college football great are the uniforms. Fans tend to identify teams by their uniform. Any college fan knows the winged Michigan helmet , the golden helmet of Notre Dame and the plain white and navy uniforms of Penn State. However, since the early 2000's I have noticed the effect that people like Nike founder Phil Knight has had on the current state of the collegiate football uniforms.
As an Oregon alum Knight has made sure that Oregon athletics, most notably the football team, has had the most modern and colorful uniforms in the game. At this past year's Rose Bowl for instance Oregon wore probably their flashiest uniform yet with their blinding silver helmets as is seen below:
Over the years I have accepted the fact that a school like Oregon, which traditionally hasn't been a national power until recently, can use the uniform has a marketing tool to lure recruits, and so far they have been very successful. What has irked me however is that in the recent years schools that have great traditions in football are starting to follow the Oregon model.
Penn State announced earlier this summer that for the first time that they will be putting names on the back of their jerseys. As odd as it may look for a long time college football fan to see these uniforms, these uniforms actually have a purpose. The names on the back of their jersey are a symbol of a new era in Penn State football, as the school tries to distance itself from the child sex scandal that has rocked the program and university . Another reason was to recognize the student athletes individually on the team who have stuck with the program after it was slapped with huge sanctions and the players were given the opportunity to transfer to any school without penalty.
The uniform however that was unveiled last week that shows that the college football landscape is truly changing is the Notre Dame uniform that they will wear against Miami this fall in Chicago. As a BC alum I'm supposed to be anti-Notre Dame towards everything they do. And in many ways I do just that as I take great pride whenever they lose. However, Notre Dame is about as traditional as they come when it comes to college football. The message they are sending by wearing these uniforms that can be seen below is that "If Notre Dame can wear these outrageous uniforms than anyone can,"
I know more and more schools are going to follow suit. As mentioned earlier high school recruits are more interested these days in which school has the best "swag," and not which school has the best tradition. The real question however is, are the Virginia Tech players going to really be happy wearing half camouflage and half turkey feet helmets this season:
I know in the grand scheme of things, my disdain for a lot of the new uniforms that are being unveiled in college football doesn't mean much. I will always love the game, but as a college football traditionalist It is a trend that I don't like. On the bright side, in just 9 days we can be discussing the actual games and not what uniforms teams will be wearing.
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