College Football uniforms- 2018

[RichO]

19 hours ago, Cardsblues02 said:

I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Minnesota football fans. And your past unis. PJ Fleck, you are a disgrace to uniforms everywhere. 

 

The "row the boat" theme will get laid on so thick

[CrimsonBull9584]

2 hours ago, RichO said:

 

The "row the boat" theme will get laid on so thick

 

At least PJ dropped the black from WMU's uniforms and returned it to the traditional brown and gold uniforms. Maybe he can do the same for Minnesota and, at very least, lighten up the color scheme. Frankly, Minnesota is one school that just keeps making their colors darker and darker with each new uniform. Why can't college football be bright and colorful? 

[WavePunter]

On 12/29/2017 at 11:34 AM, bowld said:

While improved, that template still sucks

The template, or the material? Template's fine

[pianoknight]

On 1/2/2018 at 8:17 AM, mjd77 said:

 

I'm not sure how desperate Adidas is to stay relevant in college football and basketball, but it seems pretty clear they are competing by grossly overpaying to win over some of these schools.  Of course at the same time, I'm sure the school will always take the highest bidder no matter what brand it is.

 

Adidas makes BANK in their soccer/international market. I'm not sure if that affects the finances of the US side of Adidas or if they're separate entities, but they're certainly not poor. 

 

Also, the quality of their gear is top shelf. Is it often fugly? Sure. But they've also made some of the best cleats and gloves on the market. The adiZero shoes are supposedly one of the lightest shoes out there and I constantly see players raving about the performance of their products.  

 

Finally, they sign major contracts with their flagship schools. Nebraska recently inked an Adidas deal for $128m. It included a full time Adidas rep with an office on campus to address any apparel concerns. Compare that against Nike's deal with Oregon for $88m.  Those are just two pinpoints in a sea of financial data, but it's worth noting. 

 

So, bad design? Yup. But financially stable and healthy company? Also yup. 

[WavePunter]

6 hours ago, pianoknight said:

 

Adidas makes BANK in their soccer/international market. I'm not sure if that affects the finances of the US side of Adidas or if they're separate entities, but they're certainly not poor. 

 

Also, the quality of their gear is top shelf. Is it often fugly? Sure. But they've also made some of the best cleats and gloves on the market. The adiZero shoes are supposedly one of the lightest shoes out there and I constantly see players raving about the performance of their products.  

 

Finally, they sign major contracts with their flagship schools. Nebraska recently inked an Adidas deal for $128m. It included a full time Adidas rep with an office on campus to address any apparel concerns. Compare that against Nike's deal with Oregon for $88m.  Those are just two pinpoints in a sea of financial data, but it's worth noting. 

 

So, bad design? Yup. But financially stable and healthy company? Also yup. 

They also rake in small colleges and high schools left and right.. Programs that are still paying for everything, just at certain team discounts for signing virtually meaningless exclusivity contacts.. Even with the discount, a uniform (1 jersey + 1 pair of pants) is still nearly $200.. 

Nike has figured out how to capitalize on the "swoosh" for sure, but I think Adidas has mastered the ability to capitalize on nonsense "technology".. High school and college kids absolutely freaking LOVE the tight TechFit/PrimeKnit garbage, and the fact that they see the premier Adidas programs wearing it as well only reinforces it.. Coaches and players actually think it literally gives them a performance advantage simply because it's tight and stretchy.. For anyone thinking Adidas has recently been losing ground in the football market at a high rate, I believe you're mistaken.. Sure, UA has taken some market share from them, and maybe at a higher rate from Adidas than from Nike, but that's to be expected when a new player enters the market, but outside of the expected market share reduction, I think Adidas is actually doing far better than many of us realize, primarily at the lower levels (which, from a direct sales standpoint, are the money-making levels)..

[LETSGOBLUEBEATMSU]

5 hours ago, WavePunter said:

They also rake in small colleges and high schools left and right.. Programs that are still paying for everything, just at certain team discounts for signing virtually meaningless exclusivity contacts.. Even with the discount, a uniform (1 jersey + 1 pair of pants) is still nearly $200.. 

Nike has figured out how to capitalize on the "swoosh" for sure, but I think Adidas has mastered the ability to capitalize on nonsense "technology".. High school and college kids absolutely freaking LOVE the tight TechFit/PrimeKnit garbage, and the fact that they see the premier Adidas programs wearing it as well only reinforces it.. Coaches and players actually think it literally gives them a performance advantage simply because it's tight and stretchy.. For anyone thinking Adidas has recently been losing ground in the football market at a high rate, I believe you're mistaken.. Sure, UA has taken some market share from them, and maybe at a higher rate from Adidas than from Nike, but that's to be expected when a new player enters the market, but outside of the expected market share reduction, I think Adidas is actually doing far better than many of us realize, primarily at the lower levels (which, from a direct sales standpoint, are the money-making levels)..

 

I can relate to this first hand. The high school I went to has a deal with Adidas I'm not real sure what all the specifics of the deal exactly are but all of the sports have Adidas uniforms, The school store sells Adidas branded apparel. My sophomore year of high school they switched to this Adidas deal and everyone was pretty excited for it. For football everyone was excited to finally get new uniforms and that this time they were uniforms from a big time brand.  The TechFit jerseys we had were really nice, I have nothing bad to say about them, Yeah some of their designs at the college level are awful but for a high school team they were great. Our jerseys were quality too, the jersey in hands actually feels very thick it doesn't feel cheap at all, our numbers were stitched on so it didn't have that cheap look like the screen printed crap they throw on jerseys now. As for the fit of the jersey it's tight but not a suffocating tight, now does it give any advantage? It depends what you define as an advantage, It fits tight to the body like a compression shirt would so in a way compared to a jersey that other high schools wear that isn't a Nike or UA jersey it doesn't have loose materiel that someone could grab on to. However does it make you harder to tackle no it does not, everyone who knows football knows that you tackle by wrapping them up not by pulling them down by the jersey. However the best part of the Adidas deal we had was a website that the coach would set up with a rep. You could get cleats, gloves , compression wear , visors , all for a discounted price and that is the best part especially for kids who come from homes that don't have a whole lot of money. For them why go to the store and buy the top of the line Nike cleat for $199 or $170 when you can get the top of the line Adidas cleat for $75-$90.  Now a ton of schools in Michigan have an Adidas deal just like the one my alma mater has. Wether people like it or not Adidas isn't going away any time time soon look at how many prospects they sign coming out of the NFL Draft. Just because it doesn't have the "Swoosh" doesn't mean its not good.

[FightingGoldenDevil]

Sounds like Adidas is going to give almost every big school the new template. Lower tier schools will be getting the shaft

[WavePunter]

17 minutes ago, FightingGoldenDevil said:

Sounds like Adidas is going to give almost every big school the new template. Lower tier schools will be getting the shaft

Lower tier schools will just purchase the new template if they want it.. They purchase the their uniforms anyway

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, WavePunter said:

Lower tier schools will just purchase the new template if they want it.. They purchase the their uniforms anyway

I think the new template won't be nearly as annoying on the eyes as Primeknit 1 is. It could appeara bit sparkly depending on the colors used.

[andrewharrington]

On 1/4/2018 at 5:35 AM, WavePunter said:

They also rake in small colleges and high schools left and right.. Programs that are still paying for everything, just at certain team discounts for signing virtually meaningless exclusivity contacts.. Even with the discount, a uniform (1 jersey + 1 pair of pants) is still nearly $200.. 

Nike has figured out how to capitalize on the "swoosh" for sure, but I think Adidas has mastered the ability to capitalize on nonsense "technology".. High school and college kids absolutely freaking LOVE the tight TechFit/PrimeKnit garbage, and the fact that they see the premier Adidas programs wearing it as well only reinforces it.. Coaches and players actually think it literally gives them a performance advantage simply because it's tight and stretchy.. For anyone thinking Adidas has recently been losing ground in the football market at a high rate, I believe you're mistaken.. Sure, UA has taken some market share from them, and maybe at a higher rate from Adidas than from Nike, but that's to be expected when a new player enters the market, but outside of the expected market share reduction, I think Adidas is actually doing far better than many of us realize, primarily at the lower levels (which, from a direct sales standpoint, are the money-making levels)..

 

So, being comfortable and well-fitting cannot possibly be the main reason why players like this jersey?  Objectively, it’s really not garbage. It’s an excellent product, players love it, and I think others have finally caught up to that one and are opting for a more seamless body, which these have been for nearly a decade.

 

Now, have the visuals been the same caliber? I’d say that’s a more polarizing question. 

[WavePunter]

9 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

So, being comfortable and well-fitting cannot possibly be the main reason why players like this jersey?  Objectively, it’s really not garbage. It’s an excellent product, players love it, and I think others have finally caught up to that one and are opting for a more seamless body, which these have been for nearly a decade.

 

Now, have the visuals been the same caliber? I’d say that’s a more polarizing question. 

I think "comfortable" is a very subjective term here.. They're extremely tight, but this whole "compression" age has kids thinking they need to lose circulation in their extremities to perform well.. When we were an under armour school, we had a 230 lb middle linebacker who demanded small pants.. It's ridiculous.. 

And "well-fitting" might be a bit of a stretch as well, considering they struggle to contain the shoulder pads, particularly up til the last ShockWeb template.. It seems to have improved slightly with the PrimeKnit, and the A1 appears to build on that, so they may be improving.. 

I've long been a defender of Adidas, and they certainly receive some unfair criticism here, but they do have their shortcomings.. I'm pushing for a more traditional template and custom jersey when we order our new white jerseys next month.. Chances are we'll just get stock A1 with screen printed numbers though, so we'll just continue to be a cheap looking catalog team

[andrewharrington]

9 hours ago, WavePunter said:

I think "comfortable" is a very subjective term here.. They're extremely tight, but this whole "compression" age has kids thinking they need to lose circulation in their extremities to perform well.. When we were an under armour school, we had a 230 lb middle linebacker who demanded small pants.. It's ridiculous.. 

And "well-fitting" might be a bit of a stretch as well, considering they struggle to contain the shoulder pads, particularly up til the last ShockWeb template.. It seems to have improved slightly with the PrimeKnit, and the A1 appears to build on that, so they may be improving.. 

I've long been a defender of Adidas, and they certainly receive some unfair criticism here, but they do have their shortcomings.. I'm pushing for a more traditional template and custom jersey when we order our new white jerseys next month.. Chances are we'll just get stock A1 with screen printed numbers though, so we'll just continue to be a cheap looking catalog team

 

I've never found the material to be particularly "tight" feeling. It fits snugly, but doesn't "compress" much, in my opinion, which is what I prefer. I thought there were pockets inside to lock the pads in?

[WavePunter]

4 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

I've never found the material to be particularly "tight" feeling. It fits snugly, but doesn't "compress" much, in my opinion, which is what I prefer. I thought there were pockets inside to lock the pads in?

Material itself can't be loose or tight.. The cut of the template is the issue.. When matched to fairly appropriate sizes (matching jerseys to pants, considering street clothes sizing, etc), they are ridiculously tight and ridiculously stretchy, and compresses FAR more than anything Nike or Under Armour makes.. Dealing with these uniforms is literally my livelihood, as I'm the head football equipment manager at an Adidas school.. 

Yes, the jerseys have crappy "pockets", but no they are not meant to "lock the pads in" - they're meant to lock the jersey down.. Shoulder pads, as a function of safety, are meant to stay in one spot constantly, in order to protect that spot.. The jersey, which is subject to pulling, tugging, moving around a bit, etc, is what needs to be affixed to the pads to maintain its function.. It works horribly on the ShockWeb template.. The fact that there is even a need for those useless pockets demonstrates a weakness with the template.. The pattern should be cut to accommodate shoulder pads naturally, like Nike's and UA's.. Like I said, Adidas has improved its recent templates a bit, but the ShockWeb template is bad in that regard..

[andrewharrington]

7 minutes ago, WavePunter said:

Material itself can't be loose or tight.. The cut of the template is the issue.. When matched to fairly appropriate sizes (matching jerseys to pants, considering street clothes sizing, etc), they are ridiculously tight and ridiculously stretchy, and compresses FAR more than anything Nike or Under Armour makes.. Dealing with these uniforms is literally my livelihood, as I'm the head football equipment manager at an Adidas school.. 

Yes, the jerseys have crappy "pockets", but no they are not meant to "lock the pads in" - they're meant to lock the jersey down.. Shoulder pads, as a function of safety, are meant to stay in one spot constantly, in order to protect that spot.. The jersey, which is subject to pulling, tugging, moving around a bit, etc, is what needs to be affixed to the pads to maintain its function.. It works horribly on the ShockWeb template.. The fact that there is even a need for those useless pockets demonstrates a weakness with the template.. The pattern should be cut to accommodate shoulder pads naturally, like Nike's and UA's.. Like I said, Adidas has improved its recent templates a bit, but the ShockWeb template is bad in that regard..

 

Material absolutely can be loose or tight. The fabric is very stretchy, so while the the shape might compress to the point of it looking like a kids jersey, it feels much less compressive than it appears, in my opinion. There’s also not really a “cut” to the body. It’s a seamless tube with various knit textures engineered into it.

[SmackNCheese]

Recruit on an official visit is wearing a gray face mask in his photo shoot. Hopefully this indicates at least an alternate uni coming w/ the gray face mask, but i'd really like to see Nebraska wear it full-time, like they did back in the 70s.

[WavePunter]

16 hours ago, andrewharrington said:

 

Material absolutely can be loose or tight. The fabric is very stretchy, so while the the shape might compress to the point of it looking like a kids jersey, it feels much less compressive than it appears, in my opinion. There’s also not really a “cut” to the body. It’s a seamless tube with various knit textures engineered into it.

If I were to hand you a big sheet of material, it would not be loose or tight.. Material itself can't be loose or tight.. That's like saying a towel can be tight.. It can't because it's just a sheet of material.. Material has nothing to do with being tight or loose.. That has to do with sizing and cut.. And they absolutely do have a cut.. Anytime something is made by sewing together pieces of material, it will have a cut.. The torso is somewhat of a seamless tube, but the overall fit is predicated primarily in the upper part of the jersey, which is covered with seams.. There are cuff seams, front yoke seams, back yoke seams, collar seams, and even a mid-yoke seam on the back.. Yes, the material is made with the textured designs knit directly into it, but the panels of the jersey are still sewn together similar to any other jersey, especially in the part that matters - chest/shoulder pad area..

[Cardsblues02]

IMO, Nebraska’s look is stale. People act like it is a classic uni, which it is. But just because it is classic doesn’t mean it is good! I’d get rid of that boring old N and use the other, bold N logo. Maybe even include the black “Huskers” font on an alternate helmet. The uniforms could use an update. Not saying go to the modern Adidas look, but update it a bit! 

[SmackNCheese]

2 hours ago, Cardsblues02 said:

IMO, Nebraska’s look is stale. People act like it is a classic uni, which it is. But just because it is classic doesn’t mean it is good! I’d get rid of that boring old N and use the other, bold N logo. Maybe even include the black “Huskers” font on an alternate helmet. The uniforms could use an update. Not saying go to the modern Adidas look, but update it a bit! 

I agree that it needs an update, but the current "N" on the helmet is great, and when i've mocked up the block N on the helmets, it looks tacky.

 

Overall i think the uniforms look very dated due to how broad the stripes are. Thin 'em out a bit, get larger numbers with a thinner stroke, and wear black socks/shoes/accessories every time and you have a top ten look.

EDIT: (very) Rough mockup of what i'd like nebraska to look like (obviously with consistent striping, etc.)

[andrewharrington]

8 hours ago, WavePunter said:

If I were to hand you a big sheet of material, it would not be loose or tight.. Material itself can't be loose or tight.. That's like saying a towel can be tight.. It can't because it's just a sheet of material.. Material has nothing to do with being tight or loose.. That has to do with sizing and cut.. And they absolutely do have a cut.. Anytime something is made by sewing together pieces of material, it will have a cut.. The torso is somewhat of a seamless tube, but the overall fit is predicated primarily in the upper part of the jersey, which is covered with seams.. There are cuff seams, front yoke seams, back yoke seams, collar seams, and even a mid-yoke seam on the back.. Yes, the material is made with the textured designs knit directly into it, but the panels of the jersey are still sewn together similar to any other jersey, especially in the part that matters - chest/shoulder pad area..

 

Fabrics absolutely have inherent qualities that affect their perceived fit properties. Typically, that’s the structure and content of the fabric, which both affect how elastic it is. For example, a woven fabric and a stretchy knit fabric cut and sewn to the exact same garment pattern will be perceived vastly different in terms of tightness and fit.

 

I own two pairs of jeans in the exact same cut. One is a very densely woven denim, and the other is a more open weave. The open weave feels looser, more comfortable and better fitting despite being the exact same size/cut/pattern and actually being less broken in.

 

All this is perceivable when holding a plain sheet of textile.

[WavePunter]

33 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

 

Fabrics absolutely have inherent qualities that affect their perceived fit properties. Typically, that’s the structure and content of the fabric, which both affect how elastic it is. For example, a woven fabric and a stretchy knit fabric cut and sewn to the exact same garment pattern will be perceived vastly different in terms of tightness and fit.

 

I own two pairs of jeans in the exact same cut. One is a very densely woven denim, and the other is a more open weave. The open weave feels looser, more comfortable and better fitting despite being the exact same size/cut/pattern and actually being less broken in.

 

All this is perceivable when holding a plain sheet of textile.

But a woven fabric shirt in a size 4XL will not be tight on me, while a stretchy knit fabric shirt in a size XXS will be extremely tight on me..

The material in-and-of itself, cannot be tight or loose.. It is 100% dependent upon the cut and sizing.. You can the the "tightest" material ever, and if you use it to create a garment that is cut much looser and sized much bigger, it will not be tight.. 

Obviously material selection is important in creating a quality garment, but fit is dictated by the cut and size.. That's why when people ask what size you wear, "denim" is never the answer