Why is it so hard to get the uniforms right?

BC unveiled their new uniforms Wednesday (see embedded tweet below). The major changes are in the sleeves and in the pants. BC added stripes to the arms that include white and maroon against a gold base. The lines on the pants now curve in between the knees and thighs. None of this is objectionable, but it is all unnecessary. Do these changes excite anyone or do they just add more clutter to the jersey? The curved line on the pants have been around since the Broncos moved to them in the 1990s. Are we adopting them now to look current? I know this is about Under Armour and recruits, but there is a much simpler way to go about this.

BC should have a standard, classic base uniform for home and road games. Gold helmet with maroon stripe, gimmick free maroon jersey and simple gold pants. If you want to add a maroon stripe to the gold pants, I would not object. We've had various road styles over the years. My suggestion is to pick a simple one and stick with it.

Once you have your "base uniforms" established, then you get crazy with the rest of the season. Add wings or feathers to the helmet. Go all black. Use funky fonts and italics. Put lines all over it. Create a super fan style uniform. Use different shades of gold or maroon. Become the Oregon of the East. I don't care. Just as long as there is a simple, consistent BC to revert to for most of the season.

This new look to the sleeves and pants is not the worst we've had, but I am not a fan. Like all these uniform changes, this will get changed in a year or two. Hopefully soon BC will realize that the best way to appeal to old fans like me and young recruits is to get a uniform for every occassion instead of one look that leaves everyone so empty.

Turn on the lights💡#PhotoDay #BCEagles pic.twitter.com/dDzjhDTojP

— BC Football (@BCFootball) August 3, 2016

Throwbacks for Fenway!

As expected, BC will wear a special uniform for the game at Fenway. But instead of some nouveau "Cool" look, BC is going old school with a throwback look to the '80s. The color will be a little more mustard than our current gold. The helmet stripe is gone and the pants have the white-maroon-white trim.

But these are not truly identical to the Flutie days. We didn't have the "vintage" BC logo on the shoulder and the arm stripes are on the undershirt, not the true jersey. Plus in the '80s, the jerseys were very short, and guys like Flutie often had their abs showing.

Even if it is not a true throwback, I like what Under Armour did here. These should be popular and hopefully boost sales a bit.

By the way. The Irish will wear green. We know how that goes against us.

Answering email: names on uniforms

I try to answer all the emails sent to me. Sometimes the topic merits opening the discussion up to the larger BC fanbase. Here is an email from David H. and my response.

Question for ya -- do you think that player names should go back on the football jerseys? I believe that Spaz took them off, and Addazio has just kept the status quo.

I really wish they would put the player names back on. Makes it a lot easier to follow the team during the game and get excited about individual players. Not easy to remember all the numbers out there. I also think that the players and maybe even families might feel more proud with their family name on the uniform.

Wondering if there's any sort of movement or vocal group that feels the same way?

I would welcome a return of names on the back of the jerseys. Let’s be practical about the whole thing. It is not like we are preserving some history or tradition. The names have been coming on and off BC jerseys for five decades now. Sometimes we have them on the road but not home. Some coaches have mixed it up (TOB had it both ways). Even if you use the names (or lack thereof) as a motivational tool and a form of team unity, does that really make a difference?

Addazio is a big believer in motivational tools, so I don’t expect any change in the policy any time soon. Maybe if he hears enough negative feedback from recruits, he might change things.

The other factor that might help get names back is Under Armour. They are always looking to tweak the look and jerseys so adding the names back could be an upcoming recommendation. At least we no longer have the italics numbers, which made identifying players strictly by number very confusing.

My prediction is that names will return to home jerseys within two years. Addazio or Under Armour will make the change for sake of change.

Guessing the dollars of BC's Under Armour extension

BC and Under Armour extended their partnership another 10 years. This is good news for BC. Despite some early gripes in the first year with regards to feet problems with the shoes, overall I think both sides have been happy. Under Armour is still only supplying eight Power 5 schools, so BC still gets the attention we deserve. It still also adds a little coolness to recruits and fans. But as much as the marketing and recruiting is important, what really matters is the money.

Unfortunately for BC, it doesn't seem like our other potential partners in Adidas and Nike were writing blank checks for apparel deals. Under Armour just signed Notre Dame to the largest deal in college sports. It is estimated that the Irish got $100 million for 10 years. Nike even let Miami leave for Adidas for an estimated $4.5 million. If Under Armour didn't break the bank to sign Miami -- a traditionally a higher profile school than BC -- I don't think they were breaking the bank for BC's extension. The most lucrative UA deal right now is with Auburn and that is only a little over $4 million annually. Texas Tech renewed their UA deal recently and terms are not yet public. My guess is that because we renewed and agreed to a long deal, BC is probably getting around $3.5 and have some kickers if we raise our profile in the next ten years with some sort of basketball or football championship.

Now that the deal is done, I hope BC and Under Armour agree to some new looks and guidelines for the uniform. My preference remains a traditional, consistent conservative look for the majority of our games. I don't like tweaks year to year and especially tweaks during the season. Then in the one or two "marketing" games BC can go crazy. Try Super Fan yellow! Go with a winged helmet! I would even accept a full stain glass helmet for one game. Do throw backs from different eras.

BC's revenue from apparel is never going to be among the highest in college football. At this point that doesn't really matter. What matters is getting fair money with upside and having a partner who is focused on BC. This UA renewal does that.

The little things only matter if you lose

I've had two offline conversations over the past week about Addazio's changes. One was the much talked about names on the jerseys. The other was about the new limitations on player interactions with the media. Both are signs of Addazio putting his stamp on the program. Coaches love to do these sorts of things. The only team I've ever coached was a bunch of five-year-olds playing soccer but I know enough about sports to say that none of these little things really matter.

Coaches at this level tend to be planners and guys who work a plan. They did what they were told on the way up the ladder and outworked most of their colleagues. There was some sort of blueprint at each stage and they followed it. However, the best coaches are the guys who take bits and pieces from their rise and combine those pieces in some sort of unique fashion. But what it all comes down to at the highest level is getting the best players and giving them the best schemes and gameplans.

I think Addazio understands that talent/scheme combination. Why else has he put such an emphasis on recruiting? And he also empowered two unique and potentially great coordinators. All the other things like names or interviews or a clean lockerroom are window dressing. He may be trying to establish a "culture" but that culture is going to come from wins and losses, how he leads his staff, and of course the players he recruits. There is a lot of self-selection in recruiting. Players recruit other players and recruits seek out places where they are comfortable and fit.

Addazio can keep making little changes. It gives everyone something to talk about. But ultimately all these little things will just be footnote to his time at BC. Winning is the big thing.

ACC Media Kickoff Day 1

For those who weren't following on twitter, here is the ACC's roundup of Day 1 of the ACC Football Kickoff.

Both Montel Harris and Luke Kuechly scored big points with the assembled media. Neither seems concerned about individual awards.

For many fans, the biggest news of Day 1 was the debut of BC's new jerseys. Most pleasing is the return of normal numbers. The italics are gone! Let's hope we phased them out on our logo too.

(Screen grab courtesy of EO.)

With the ACC record within reach, Montel Harris is also getting national attention.

I am glad someone finally mentioned Kuechly's stats getting padded. I thought they might be too, but towards the end of the season, I started logging his specific tackles and they were pretty accurate.

HD and Pat Forde gave their take on Day 1.

Is EA Sports already using our new look?

EO poster Onyx Blackman had a nice find today with his screen caps of our uniforms in EA Sports. I am still waiting on confirmation from BC if all these looks will be used on the field. The big changes are the return of maroon pants and the gold home jersey. I welcome both additions. Other thoughts:

-- It looks like the "all white" era is over. I will always associate it with Jags's time at BC, so we might as well drop it.
-- A gold home jersey may be a reality. It is not as dramatic a departure as I was hoping for, but the gold jersey is perfect for a one-time event. I predict it will debut in our Thursday night game against Florida State.
-- It looks like we will have the stained glass numbers we saw in basketball. I don't know if anyone other than die-hard BC fans notice, but it is a nice touch.
-- This will be the first time BC plays in maroon pants with stripes. The maroon pants of the TOB era were solid.
-- The helmet stays the same.


Please share your thoughts. I will update as I get new information.

Wanted: BC's version of a gimmick uniform

Would you prefer a gold helmet with maroon wings or maroon helmet with gold wings?

Michigan and Notre Dame often take themselves way too seriously. Their traditions. Their history. What they will or won't do. Both consider their uniforms sacrosanct. Yet this season in their game against each other, they will debut special uniforms. They are calling them throwbacks, but Michigan's version is much more of a throwback/future clash. I used to hate this sort of overt marketing but now I am a convert. And I am also wondering if these two self important programs can mix it up a little, then why not BC?

BC last used throwbacks in 2004. The style recalled BC's uniforms of the mid-'80s. It was a nice touch but not exactly what I had in mind. I want BC to do something unique. Let's get Under Armour involved! I loved what they did with the basketball uniforms. Think of what they might do with a one time only event. A logo on the helmet? Wings?

I know BC fans tend to be traditional. I am not naive enough to think that one uniform will change our momentum on the field. It won't put butts in the seats. But it's something. There is tremendous apathy surrounding the program. It will take a numerous small steps to change that apathy. Changing our look for one game seems like a low risk way to shake things up.

Gene likes to say that BC tries to be Harvard during the week and Alabama on Saturdays. If we break out some gimmicky uniform, then we can say we are Harvard during the week and Oregon on Saturdays.

New looks for basketball uniforms and other links

The Under Armour team that designed the new basketball uniforms explained what they did for BC. I love the small details like the "Ever to Excell" stitching and the stained-glass inspired numbers.

If you want to get an early look at the basketball team, check out their open scrimmage Saturday morning.

Andy Katz has some quotes from Donahue at the ACC meetings.

The PAC 12 will hold their Championship Games on campus. Why didn't the ACC do this from the start?

It looks good on you, though

All the uniform questions were answered. First, we are still a Reebok school (and still using Reebok Red, although it is more maroonish). I guess the Adidas thing will wait. Second, the new eagle logo is on the sleeve. The slanty numbers are back and gold on the home uni. We also will be using an all white uniform for the first time in my memory. I like the tweaks to the home uni, but don't like the all whites. Regardless, we needed to freshen things up and we are moving in the right direction.

New Look? UPDATE

When Reebok merged with Adidas many speculated that Reebok would discontinue their uniform work and transfer the BC rights over to Adidas, who has a much bigger college uniform business. Well it looks like the change happened (thanks to bcdf22 for the find). As you can see, the color is actually maroon and not "Reebok Red." It also looks like the profile Eagle logo is gaining more prominence as we deemphasize the angry chicken logo. I am pleased with the new look and hope we ditch the italics lettering in our next iteration.






UPDATE:
The site that bcdf22 links to in the comments leads to a whole bc jersey store that is also revealing. It contains a white version of the potential new jersey and an Adidas version of last season's Reebok Red jersey. Based on the home and away version of the new jersey and the limited version of the Reebok Red jersey, I am betting that these are our new uniforms. However, I could be wrong as none of these match what Ryan and Dunbar wore at the ACC Media Days. They wore last season's jersey which includes gold trin on the collar and sleeve.