Under Armour Thursday unveiled new football uniforms for Northwestern Univ. to debut during the ‘12 season. The schools’ partnership with UA was announced in December and the company will outfit all teams in a multiyear agreement. The focal point of the football jerseys is a prominent stripe. Known as the “Northwestern Stripe,” the feature will be integrated for 19 sports teams (Northwestern Univ.). YAHOO SPORTS’ Jeff Eisenberg wrote the stripe “across the sleeves, chest and back is the most striking and unusual feature of the new Northwestern football uniforms.” The school’s signature thin-thick-thin striping pattern was “pioneered in 1928.” Most assumed the pattern “would go on Northwestern's socks or sleeves when Under Armour indicated it wanted the stripe to be part of the new jerseys, but the designers had a bolder option in mind.” Reaction to the jerseys has been “largely positive among Northwestern fans thus far” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/26). In Chicago, Paul Banks wrote the uniforms incorporate “the famous arch at Chicago Ave on campus” as well. The team’s “slogan of W.I.N. What’s important now is stitched into the bottom.” The new look incorporates “a unique design aesthetic, taking inspiration from the different elements of the Northwestern campus, including the gothic-style architecture and intricate stonework.” These details are “strategically woven into the uniform through the font style and numeral design” (CHICAGONOW.com, 7/26).
BULLDOG BLITZ: In Jackson, Brandon Marcello notes Mississippi State Univ. will “keep it simple in the fashion department this season." The school Thursday released “images of its new home and away uniforms, which include a broad ‘banner’ stripe but no gaudy adjustments.” The maroon jerseys “for home games include a white stripe on the shoulders and a large ‘Mississippi State’ wordmark on the chest.” Away uniforms “will include white uniforms with a maroon stripe.” MSU also “added a maroon helmet with a white stripe down the middle, and a pair of silver pants.” In addition, the school will “unveil special uniforms in advance of its ‘Snow Bowl’ reunion game against Texas A&M on Nov. 3, and the Egg Bowl against in-state rival Ole Miss on Nov. 24” (Jackson CLARION-LEDGER, 7/27).
WALK LIKE A DUCK: CBSSPORTS.com’s Craig Morgan noted Univ. of Oregon RB Kenjon Barner took “a subtle jab at some of the other teams that have tried to copy Oregon’s fashion sense -- the Terrapins" of the Univ. of Maryland in particular. Barner said, “I look at teams and kind of wonder what exactly was the reasoning behind it. But everybody wants to be fresh, and everybody wants to be brand new and innovative, so I can see where you're coming from” (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/26).
