Nike To Go BFBS For Nine Schools?

By Phil Hecken

Reports surfaced yesterday, picked up by various outlets (for example, here, here, here and here), that Nike would be outfitting nine of its schools in black jerseys for certain games this season. The reports all stemmed from a series of tweets by Andrew Lind, a reporter/columnist at The Tidewater News in Virginia. He’s also a longtime reader/friend of Uni Watch, who reported the news as follows:

Source tells me these nine Nike black T-shirts are, in fact, designs to be worn this season: pic.twitter.com/zyVjSYQ5l7

— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 2, 2015

pic.twitter.com/U2nesc3Pnb

— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 2, 2015

pic.twitter.com/VwzBFuH45Y

— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) August 2, 2015

If true, then Nike is really calling all the shots on college football design. In case you couldn’t make out the nine schools, they are: Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.

OK — two of those schools — Oregon and Florida State already have black jerseys (although Florida State has yet to wear their black alternate in a game; Oregon, of course, pretty much invented the whole BFBS genre). Of the other schools, Georgia has worn a black alternate in the past, although the Bulldogs haven’t worn an alternate jersey since the 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. So a BFBS alternate wouldn’t be new for those three schools.

Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas — hmmmm. Earlier this year, Texas’ Charlie Strong said there would be no alternate uniforms for his team this year. And it’s hard to see Alabama wearing anything other than their standard uniforms (their one alternate, I believe was their 2010 “Pro Combat” number that was very similar to their current set, save for the ‘houndstooth’ pattern on the numbers and helmet, and a slightly different pants stripe pattern).

What about Ohio State? Well, Kirk Barton, who is an Ohio State graduate assistant/former Buckeyes and NFL lineman, basically confirms the black for the Buckeyes:

I'm excited for the black jerseys versus Penn State this year. I think they'll we sweet. It is 100% happening. No need to doubt #truth

— Kirk Barton (@Kirk_Barton) August 2, 2015

As that tweet mentions, they’ll wear BFBS versus the Nittany Lions, an October 17th affair at the ‘shoe.

On the other hand, Kenny Mossman, who is the Oklahoma Senior Associate Athletics Director, said Oklahoma will not be doing the BFBS thing this year:

There is no new uniform coming for @OU_Football this season. #Sooners

— Kenny Mossman (@Kenny_Mossman) August 2, 2015

Shortly after that, Georgia’s AD, Greg McGarity, said UGA will also not be doing the BFBS thing:

Georgia will not be wearing any alternative uniforms this year, per A.D. Greg McGarity. Stand down, Georgia fans.

— Seth Emerson (@SethEmersonAJC) August 2, 2015

UPDATE:

Texas will also not be participating in the BFBS:

Just got this from a Texas source on the report the football team will wear a black jersey this season. "No truth to that."

— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) August 2, 2015

I haven’t (yet) seen anything confirming or denying the BFBS jersey rumor for Florida or LSU (or Alabama), but those first two schools have worn special Nike uniforms in the past, although those were always in school colors. Any BFBS jersey would of course be done in a football cut, and would not look like the fan t-shirts. If you want to see what the fan t-shirts on which the BFBS jerseys would be based, I’ll post each below (click to enlarge):

I can’t say I’m a fan of any of those — but then again, those wouldn’t be what’s worn on the field. How might one of these look? Well, thanks to Uniform Nation Blog, here’s how LSU’s BFBS alternate might look:

My take of the (rumored) new black LSU jerseys pic.twitter.com/DwbvT6HeDr

— Uniform Nation Blog (@UniNationBlog) August 2, 2015

Interesting. That certainly looks more like a football jersey than the t-shirts. Not that I like it, but I can at least visualize it.

So will any of these BFBS alternates be worn? If Ohio State is to be believed, at least they will, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Oregon (who never saw an alternate they didn’t like) and FSU (who have a black alternate they’ve yet to wear) in them. It would seem that Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia are out, and I have to think LSU and Florida are long-shots. Still, we’ll see how much influence Nike has if these are indeed to be worn.

What do you think, readers? Casting aside your thoughts on BFBS, do you think any of these schools will do it? Should they? If one of these schools is your alma mater (or just one for whom you root), how do you feel about it? Let’s hear it.

Browns go Camo-for-camo’s-sake

At least we know who to blame:

"They were my idea." Pettine on those 🔥🔥🔥 camo practice jerseys that the defense wore today.

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 2, 2015

What, pray tell, is he talking about? Well, see for yourself:

Yes, the Browns have introduced digital camouflage jerseys. They were broken out yesterday, much to the surprise (and delight) of the players. Yes, that camo is orange and brown (yes, it looks black, but it apparently is a dark shade of brown).

Why? Well, according to this article, “Winning teams … will now sport fresh orange, brown and white camouflage,” which replaces an orange jersey which was worn by the previous days “winning” team. What’s a winning team? Coach “Mike Pettine livened up the end of training camp last year when he instituted a daily final drill that would determine a winner and loser of some capacity.”

Fear not, for these jerseys will only be worn for practices. Let’s hope this doesn’t give Nike (or the NFL) any ideas to introduce new alternates at some point in the future.

Here’s a couple more looks:

Woof.

Colorize This!

Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.

I usually run this feature on the weekends, but since I’m running the show during Paul’s sabbatical this month, I’ll probably (or at least as long as guys submit to me) run these once a week during August. Got several today, from our friends Chris Whitehouse of ManCave Pictures, and Bruce Menard.

Enjoy!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First up, a couple from ManCave:

Hi guys,

This is Christy in Weeghman Park (Later Wrigley Field) on September 4, 1916. It was his last ever pitching appearance, although he continued as Manager of the Reds.

I am thankful to the uniform gods that these pinstripes were grey and not red. That saved hours of tedious work.
Does that make me a uniformitarian?

Ty & Joe. I believe that Ty is thanking Joe for his filthy uniform, because it added a bit of color to two otherwise uninteresting color schemes.

Next week: Taking it outside the park for some colorful fans.

Chris Whitehouse

. . .

Next up is Bruce:

Good morning Phil,

I guess you’re not on weekends for a while, but here’s the latest colorization of Dizzy Dean and a lovely lady on a bicycle built for two – all in good fun for the 60th anniversary celebration of the National League.

I included a before/after too…

Cheers!
~Bruce

. . .

And one more from Bruce:

Hi Phil,

Here’s a new colorization, actually it’s an update of something I started last year. I filled in a lot more color for this latest version. Anyways, it’s a game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn on August 2, 1938 (Dodgers vs Cardinals) – In this game, the Dodgers used an experimental yellow baseball for better visibility (years before Charles O. Finley!).

Cheers!
~Bruce

That’s it for today. Great job, Chris and Bruce!

Uni Watch News Ticker:

Baseball News: On Friday, the Bowie Baysox had a “Military Heroes” appreciation night. You can probably guess how the jersey looked (via Bowie Baysox). … The Salt Lake Bees wore a very red “Gulls” jersey on Saturday (h/t Salt Lake Bees). Here’s a “game” action shot (via emotionaltrainwreck). …The Omaha Storm Chasers did a turn back the clock night this weekend and wearing O Royals unis from the 90’s. “Found this gallery of old pictures from the days at Rosenblatt,” writes Blair Riffel. “Check out the black unis they had in the one pic!” … Mike Leake is wearing number 13 with the Giants (with #44 being retired, of course). Thanks Brinke. … New Toronto Blue Jay David Price’s cap is already squatchee-free (h/t Brian Cheung). Speaking of Price, he’s sending a jersey to a young Blue Jays fan who made his own (Thanks, Brinke). … Check out this ticket stub from the 1978 All Star Game held in San Diego (from Scott-E). … Stirrups aren’t just a good look, but at least one star has better numbers while sporting them (thanks Paul). … Cardinals wives have their own jerseys for promo appearances (from John Smith). … The interior of the Baseball Hall of Fame is visible through Google Street View, says Mike. “Cool stuff!” Plaques. 2nd floor. … The Fort Wayne Tin Caps wore Stand Up 2 Cancer jerseys yesterday (h/t MiLB Promos). … “Have you ever seen this article from the AP from 1976 about the Yankees protesting the White Sox new Veeck-designed uniforms?” asks Thomas Juettner. “It includes protests against both the white undersleeves and the untucked jerseys.” … Yesterday the ChiSox wore their Beach Blanket Bingo unis and Avisail Garcia wore the wrong helmet (h/t Lane Horcher). He must Get Itâ„¢. notes Clint Wrede, who writes that “after he singled, TV coverage showed him taking his lead at 1st as the next batter stood in. In the midst of that, Garcia quickly took off his helmet, turned it around to look at the front of it, shrugged and smiled, and put it back on. Sure enough, when Garcia came up again in the 4th, he wore a throwback helmet.”

NFL News: Tweeter Shawn Cyr asks, “Could the Globe have used a photo that looked less like the Patriots jerseys. … The Carolina Panthers have released their 2015 jersey schedule. They’re planning to wear their blue alts three times, which I thought was impermissible. One of those times is Tgiving — maybe the rule is lifted for that day? (thanks Paul). … “Hi, I’m on vacation in Cape Cod and saw this (deflated football)” writes Joseph Bailey. “Definition of irony?” … Here’s a good set of special patches & decals for the NFL this year (great find by Raiders Italia). … Do the Steelers have a deal with Waffle House? Check out this arm sleeve (good spot by Ryan Connelly). Here’s and even better view (via The Best Gear). … Peyton Manning is wearing a SpeedFlex helmet with a 1st generation Revolution facemask (from Andrew Lind). … Most of you probably know about the debate over the color of the Broncos’ early-1962 helmet decal, which we finally solved a few years back. But check this out: Gridiron Uniform Database researcher Bill Schaefer has found some photos from a Broncos/Chargers preseason game played on Aug. 18, 1962. Most of the Denver players’ helmets were blank, with no logo decals. But Wahoo McDaniel (No. 54) appears to have had a white logo on the let and a blue one on the right, prompting Bill to ask, “Was this game perhaps a ‘visual test’ to see which version was better?” (thanks Paul). … In case you missed it: Titans’ Zach Mettenberger had his jersey misspelled. You can read more here (thanks to Jeff Hunter). … Over the weekend, Johnny Ek had an item on the The Seahawks wearing lime green jerseys at camp. More photos here. Reader Kyle Hanks notes, During training camp in the past the offense has always worn navy (with QB’s in red) and the defense has worn white. This year the defense is wearing green. Also, it’s hard to tell from the pictures but Russell Wilson is wearing Under Armour shoes. He’s worn Nike up until now.” (also sent in by Tim Dunn). … The Panthers have new practice jerseys (h/t Chris Kroeger). … Reader Joe Bozek saw these NFL player socks at K-Mart in Buffalo. … Wow — some FANTASTIC old 49ers training camp photos in this link (h/t Brinke). … Boom Herron of the Colts has been sporting socks with his likeness (via Charles Weiss). … Looks like the Bengals are using a several seasons-old helmet on their season tickets (nice spot by Dave Fiora). … In other season ticket news, per Bears’ season tickets, they will wear ‘Monsters of the Midway’ throwbacks on September 13th and December 6th (thanks to Jamie Uthe). … The Raiders will become the latest NFL team to have the Nikelace “Elite 51” jerseys this season (via Andrew Lind).

College Football News: Even though they just introduced new uniforms, Arizona State will be wearing a special new alternate uniform vs. Texas A&M on September 5. Apparently there will be more alternates during the season too. … Michigan State will have bronze facemasks as an option this year (h/t MSU Football EQ). … Ohio State has registered a trademark for Urban Meyer (thanks, Paul). … New sneakers for UNC Football this fall (h/t James Gilbert). Also from James, UNC helmets for first practice. Newcomers get a label with their name and no decals. … More UNC: some new gloves for the Tar Heels (via David Roeder). … The U of Hawaii is outfitted by UnderArmour, well except for the shoes. That may be changing (from Bill Sodeman). … ICYMI: Texas’ Football Jerseys for 2015 feature “Texas Fight” script (from Joey Breeland). … New unis for North Carolina Central (via HBCU Gameday). … Looks like new unis for Minot State (from Zo). … UCLA players are practicing with NFL stamped balls (from Sultana Stallions). … Here’s a video of the new North Texas Mean Green unis (from Mike Shirley). … According to this story about BGSU’s new Nike contract, “Last September, Kingston said having the ability to have brown uniforms with Nike was one of the many reasons to sign with the company” (thanks to Tom Kocecny). … Norfolk State has a shiny new helmet (from Doug Hazard). … The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has weighed in on Nebraska’s BFBS uniforms, and he’s not a fan, noting the disturbing trend to move merch. … A leak (or sneak preview) of the new Cincinnati Bearcats’ helmet was posted on snapchat (from Uniform Nation Blog). The Bearcats switched from adidas to UnderArmour this past season, so they may have a bunch of new helmets. … Looks like Texas A&M will be introducing something new (alternate?) on August 7th.

NBA News: A while back, I had a piece in the Sporting News on which ten NBA teams could use a “redesign.” Well, the SN graphic guys took a shot at those redesigns. … The new NBA 2K16 game allows you to, among other things, customize & create logos and jerseys. …From the Official NBA snapchat: Old Bucks, Clippers, and Sixers uniforms being used at the Africa games. Here’s a better look (from CustomCoversUniverse). Closeup of the old Bucks jersey (from Brandon Cottrell). … More on that game: Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon made a cameo appearance in today’s World vs. Africa exhibition game. They each wore throwback jerseys (thanks, Mike). … All those retired jerseys have the newest Celtics crunching numbers. … Ooohhhh, here’s a gorgeous 1970-71 George Wilson Buffalo Braves Game-Used Home Jersey, from the Braves’ inaugural season (great find by Phil Lawson). … “I was walking around New York this weekend and I walked by this store in midtown called Organic Modernism,” writes Alexander Ridore. “Apparently they have been around since 2009 but I thought their logo looked a lot like a Milwaukee Bucks logo idea that didn’t make it to the final round of logo ideas.”

Hockey News: Interesting find in the NHL 16 beta, the Griffins may be switching to their alternate logo (h/t Taylor Reeves). … The USA Hockey store is selling a shirt with the logos of defunct teams (from Matt Necci). … Here’s the jersey Centennial H.S. hockey (MN) is wearing for a week-long trip to play NY teams (nice find from Teddy Ice). … WOWSA – check out this gorgeous photo of the Rangers and Canadiens from the 1960’s (h/t Super 70s Sports).

Soccer News: During August, the numbers on every MLS team jersey will be designed with pictures from season ticket holders (via Ian Thomas. … Here’s a look at the Everton third kit (from Tim E. O’Brien). … Is this another new kit for Tennessee? If so, stamp of approval! (via David Johnston). … Nathan Sturgis of the Houston Dynamo missing a jersey sponsor Saturday night (h/t T.J. Leibowitz). … Arsenal has a Community Shield patch (from Tim Cross). … adidas/Man United created a special fan jersey for women, with a “plunging” neckline. That begs the question, “Are the women’s jerseys sexist?”. No, seriously.

College Hoops News: “I know how much you love stripes so am attaching a few pics of the basketball team from the University of Tampa 1964 yearbook,” says Phil Bacon. “Colors are red, gold and black. No pics of the road uniform.” … Butler is getting a new court logo corresponding with new logo update (via Kyle Beery).

Grab Bag: Here’s a fascinating article from the NYT on how some immigrants to NYC wear (and are apparently quite comfortable in) long pants and sleeves during sweltering NYC weather (Thanks Paul). On a quick side note: My how styles change. When I was in junior high, no self-respecting male would have ever worn anything but long pants in school, no matter what the temp. A few years later, I was seeing the kids a few years behind me wearing shorts in the winter. … The Miami Dolphins have become the first sports team to use a ‘new innovative Twitter feature’, which uses “the ”˜Collection’ feature to tweet a product photo or gallery of product photos that will link to a Twitter page that is tied to an online store or marketplace” (thanks to Tommy Turner). … From Brinke: How Shake Shack Made a 70-Year-Old Font Hot Again. … The WaPo is still using the outdated Astros logo (good spot by Dave Fiora). … Here’s a Louisville Cardinals logo most of us have probably never seen before — interesting stars & bars there (from Don Gale). … Aboriginal players of the Melbourne Demons AFL team wore forearm tape in Aboriginal colors as a show of support for Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes during this weekends game against Collingwood (thanks to Graham Clayton). … “Saturday’s installment of the comic strip Get Fuzzy features T-shirt designs created by the monkey-hating cat Bucky,” explains Clint Wrede. “One of the shirts is a football jersey with the XFL-inspired nameplate of “HE HATE MONKEY,” complete with the number 30 that Rod Smart wore on his “HE HATE ME” jersey, but with different colors.” … A Trivial Pursuit question had a very sartorial answer (h/t ucnu112). … “I am researching a bowling ball to purchase and stumbled across this ABA ball as well as an old Ebonite ad,” writes Douglas Ford. “I might write that address to see if I can get a new ball from them at ‘$29.95’.”

And that’s it for today — plenty to discuss below in the comments, so don’t be shy. Thanks to the colorizers and everyone who submitted to the ticker, whether by tweet or by e-mail. In case you missed it, Paul is taking his annual well-deserved break from the blog for August, so I’ll be handling things for the next four weeks. Hopefully I’ll live up to the high standards you’ve come to expect during the week. I have a few surprises and guests lined up and there will be plenty to read and see for the next month. Johnny Ek will handle the weekends for me for the month. I should also have a lot of my weekend features (colorizations, concepts, scoreboards, etc.) which I’ll run during the weekdays. I think you’ll enjoy!

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..

“The last weekend of July-first weekend of August is a pleasant time to be in the Twin Cities.”
–DJ