Michigan Among Many to Wear Alternate Bowl Uniforms
By Kyle Kensing
Michigan joined the growing trend of donning special uniforms for the bowl season. MGoBlue.com unveiled the alternate apparel the Wolverines will take the field in for next month’s Outback Bowl. Below is the picture Michigan football’s official Twitter account posted:
Included in the wardrobe update is a matte helmet. Fellow adidas-outfitted school Cincinnati is also rumored to debut a new lid for its postseason date, per UniWatch’s Paul Lukas’ Twitter:
Arizona opened this season’s slate of 35 postseason games wearing a never-before-used combination of the program’s new red helmets and red pants with navy blue jerseys. No word on if Syracuse is having a copyright infringement lawsuit drafted.
Everyone loves an ugly sweater Christmas party; maybe college football just wants in on the festivities?
The alternate uniform is often cited as a recruiting tool. It’s also a revenue generator for the university athletic departments, which directly benefits football programs. Players seem to love them, so I can’t begrudge that. Teams’ special uniforms are becoming less so, though, as more and more programs roll out a new, different look almost every season.
Coincidentally, this year’s BCS championship game features Alabama and Notre Dame: two teams with longstanding traditions, including their uniform choices. Alabama is known for its black shoes and crimson helmets with individualized numerical decals; Notre Dame’s look is tied directly to the identity of the university, via helmets that emulate the campus Main Building.
The Fighting Irish have dabbled in outlandish alternate uniforms in recent seasons, and it’s caused quite the uproar. Rest assured, the Golden Domes will be worn in Miami on Jan. 7.
In fact, nearly every national championship game participants of the BCS era is a team associated with a particular uniform, save Oregon and Virginia Tech. Miami and Florida each have a classic look for which they’re known, though both have tested various alternate looks in the past half-decade. Florida wore an alternate for its 2010 Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati.
Interestingly, Oregon is the only BCS title game participate ever to have worn an alternate uniform. The Ducks lost to an Auburn team outfitted in the white helmets and pants, and navy blue jerseys synonymous with the program.