The '14 season "marks the beginning of a new apparel contract" for Louisiana-Lafayette with adidas, which replaced Russell Athletic as the team's uniform provider, according to Luke Johnson of the Baton Rouge ADVOCATE. The decision to switch from Russell "was comprehensive, but one of the main reasons was that it signaled increased legitimacy for Cajuns athletics." The football team "won’t be the first to unveil the new athletic apparel brand at home," as the women's soccer team "will play its home-opener" against McNeese State tomorrow. But the football team will be "drawing the most attention." ULL football coach Mark Hudspeth said that the uniforms "won’t stray too far from a traditional look." However, he admitted that there "might be some surprises in store this season." Hudspeth did not give a date for when the new jerseys will appear in stores, but he "did give one clue as to when fans and players could expect to see a completely new-look team." Hudspeth: “They’ve got some neat things planned for us especially for our TV game on Tuesday night this year." Russell's contract with the school expired after the '13-14 athletic season, and Hudspeth said that the "plan has been in the works for some time to have a more recognizable brand outfit the athletes." He said, “We had to look at it and see what the companies that submitted bids offered us financially, what prices we would pay for their product. We evaluated everything" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 8/27).
AS PER TRADITION: In Baltimore, Sarah Meehan noted Under Armour is “known for shaking up the wardrobes of college football players,” but the company approached the design of Notre Dame’s new football jerseys by “respecting the university’s football tradition." UA Senior Creative Dir for On-Field Design Adam Clement said that the uniforms “weren’t meant to ruffle any feathers.” Instead of a new aesthetic, Clement said that the jersey “focuses more on performance.” Clement: “We know who they are and what they’re all about so it was never our intent to come in and do something different” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/25).
