Big Ten football: Ranking the 5 most iconic helmets in the conference

Big Ten football prides itself on history and tradition each Saturday of the football season. Here are the five most iconic helmets in the Big Ten.

When it comes to Big Ten football, few things matter more than tradition.

While most other schools and conferences have changed their school uniforms and helmets, most Big Ten teams have not.

Here are the five most iconic helmets in the Big Ten.

5. Michigan State

There might be some push-back here, but give credit where credit is due: Michigan State’s helmets have become synonymous with the university itself.

After years of changing designs, colors, numbers, etc., Michigan State University first placed their school mascot — the Spartan — on the side of their helmet in 1965. The program’s helmets throughout the remainder of the 1960s would all feature different variations of the Spartan with green helmets and gray facemasks.

In 1976, MSU made one fundamental change to the helmet: the stripe — which had once been one solid line down the helmet’s center — was expanded to a three-stripe look. Down the center of the helmet was a thicker stripe than in years past, and on both sides of the more prominent stripe came two smaller stripes. This look was generally kept around until the mid-1980s.

Following the changes made to the original stripe in the 1970s came another helmet-defining change: the face mask was painted white. What had previously been colored grey, the face mask was changed to the school’s secondary color — white — in 1978. While the change seems small, the more unified color scheme of the helmet improved the school’s brand recognition immensely.

With the change back to the single stripe in 1983, another big step for the Spartans’ helmet became more impactful. The logo on the side of the helmet, which had been the iconic Spartan for decades, was removed. In its place came the block ‘S,’ a look that would become permanent until the mid-1990s and still makes its way onto alternate helmets in the 2020s.

While Michigan State displayed a mix of these looks throughout the years, the program’s helmets became incredibly recognizable in a short period. In 2000 the Spartans moved from a matte green to a shiny, glossy green — once again a look that has been tweaked but still exists today.

Starting during the 2010 season, Michigan State saw helmet stickers appear on the backs of the helmets, and in 2011 the Spartans tried out their first-ever genuine alternate helmet. During the sixth game of the 2011 season, No. 23 Michigan State (4-1) took on their biggest rival — No. 11 Michigan (6-0) — in a Big Ten classic in East Lansing.

During the game, the Spartans’ debuted their iconic gold helmets, which featured a matte gold base with a large green stripe and green Spartan logos on both sides of the helmet. Though this look has only reappeared a handful of times (throughout 2015-16), it still remains an MSU fan favorite.

Since then, Michigan State has kept the same general look but reverted back to a matte finish on all of the team’s helmets. Though the program has played around with neon green, white helmets, alternate logos, script text, and more, the Spartans’ helmets have and will remain some of the most recognizable and fierce helmets in all college football.