[gdu]

It'll be interesting to see what TCU wears this season. Nike was in the midst of a rebranding for the entire athletic program to be unveiled in 2012 as TCU entered the Big East and opened its new football stadium. Of course, after the work started TCU accepted a bid to play in the B12. TCU gave Nike 2 requirements: the shade of purple had to be unique to TCU and the arched TCU logo had to stay intact.

Nike complied with both and the new shade of purple was going to be darker. Also, a new font was developed and a more life-like frog was created to be the new logo (though it would not be on the helmet). The 2011 uniforms were supposed to be a 1 year phase in. The new font was used on the helmet (as well as on the scoreboard of the new stadium and in the indoor practice field). The new font was to be used in the endzones starting in 2012 and the new frog, or the arched TCU logo, was to be the new mid-field logo.

Problem is, TCU lost 2 of its first 5 games this season when wearing only the arched TCU logo (no frog) and Coach Patterson is superstitious. The old logo was reapplied to the helmets (even the 2010 PCR helmets) and TCU never lost again. TCU hasn't lost a game with the frog on its helmet since 2008. That has put the rebranding somewhat up in the air.

New helmet designed by Nike, produced by HGI (worn for first 5 games 3-2):



New helmet with old logo (worn for remaining games 8-0):



Frog logo on 2010 PCR helmet:


New font on scoreboard:


New font on helmet:

[Trident M]

gdu, on January 22, 2012 - 11:35, said:

^This is an incredible helmet.

TCU should keep the frog on the helmet. It's unique, and I'm not sure why Nike wanted to do away with it the first place. I like the crazy number font, too, so I hope TCU keeps the end-of-the-season look from this year going into next year.

[illwauk]

Thad, on January 21, 2012 - 16:20, said:

hawk36, on January 21, 2012 - 16:08, said:

oldschoolvikings, on January 21, 2012 - 15:46, said:

Thad, on January 21, 2012 - 14:46, said:

The yellows match when you are looking at them in person - the picture seems to be way over exposed.

I love it when colleges go with the cartoony mascot on the helmet!

That said, what school is this?

Is this a throwback or something? I see the more modern looking logo in the background.

It's Appalachian State. This is the throwback logo to the 1970s, it used to be on a gold helmet with a black stripe in between two white ones. (Look at The Helmet Project - http://nationalchamp...Helmet_Project/)

The head in the background seems to be phasing out as many alumni prefer the Block A logo. It's been removed from the basketball court and isn't found anywhere on campus except on the baseball team's hat.

Really? Of all the places to NOT use the block A...

[illwauk]

pianoknight, on January 21, 2012 - 08:32, said:

Quick - name the Top Ten winningest teams in college football! In no particular order: Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee and USC.

Not a single one of them wear gimmicky Oregon costumes.

You mean like Bama's subliminated houndstooth?

Forreal though... all of those teams wear what they do BECAUSE of their tradition. Without history dictating it, all of them would likely have evolved their looks or be accused of looking dated. Case in point: Nebraska and Wisconsin. They share the same basic look, yet one gets called classic and classy and the other gets called generic and something that looks like it came from Walmart.

[CRichardson]

illwauk, on January 22, 2012 - 14:29, said:

You mean like Bama's subliminated houndstooth?

One-time uniforms don't count and when they're as conservative as Bama, Texas and Oklahoma's were, they hardly even count as Nike clown suits.

[illwauk]

CRichardson, on January 22, 2012 - 14:32, said:

illwauk, on January 22, 2012 - 14:29, said:

You mean like Bama's subliminated houndstooth?

One-time uniforms don't count and when they're as conservative as Bama, Texas and Oklahoma's were, they hardly even count as Nike clown suits.

Maybe, but it shows that even programs that are steeped in tradition aren't above Nike's gimmickery.

I have no problem with the Notre Dame's and Michigan's of the college football world keeping their traditional looks, but it'd be boring as hell if every team looked like that. Let the teams that have less tradition or came of age relatively recently look the part.

[CRichardson]

illwauk, on January 22, 2012 - 15:03, said:

Maybe, but it shows that even programs that are steeped in tradition aren't above Nike's gimmickery.

Not really. Those three uniforms were extremely conservative designs compared to Nike's usual fare.

[wyopokes2]

I like the App State throwback as a one off. Then keep the yellow lids and add the newer logos for future use.

[Brave-Bird 08]

Are we really going to start the correlation between traditional uniforms and success conversation again?

[CRichardson]

Brave-Bird 08, on January 22, 2012 - 16:26, said:

Are we really going to start the correlation between traditional uniforms and success conversation again?

Sorry, I didn't know it was a recurring issue for you guys.

[thespleenenator]

Thad, on January 21, 2012 - 14:46, said:

The yellows match when you are looking at them in person - the picture seems to be way over exposed.

My god that looks terrible. If there was one thing App State needed to overhaul, it was their jerseys, not their helmets. Now they look like bannanas.

[ONUV]

minnesota with an upgrade

[wILL-INI]

This is happening over in my homefield (http://www.illinoisl...?t=17438&page=4) it's not official, and no release, but it started a convo. Thought I'd spread it here...

[BRice16]

wILL-INI, on January 23, 2012 - 04:21, said:

This is happening over in my homefield (http://www.illinoisl...?t=17438&page=4) it's not official, and no release, but it started a convo. Thought I'd spread it here...

Regarding this and other uniform "sneak peaks" that come along from recruiting weekends, a word of caution. A lot of schools come up with all sorts of crazy prototypes (that they have no intention of ever wearing) for recruiting weekends just to generate a little extra buzz with recruits. Remember the FSU white helmet and the UNC Pewter uniforms?

Schools get lots of sample helmets and jerseys as part of the design process and will throw school decals and patches on them and float them as "possibilities." I know of a recruit several years ago that was shown a whole book of "possible" uniform designs on an official visit to another school, and the school hasn't changed anything in the 4 years since.

[MJWalker45]

wILL-INI, on January 23, 2012 - 04:21, said:

If that's the best Illinois can recruit, no wonder Zook got canned.

[deliver2david]

I wish Illinois would put the circle "I" on the helmet or just the "I". I have never liked their script.

[TheOldRoman]

The circle I logo is bad. At least if the inside of the circle were a different color it might be most substantial, but it never is - the logo is literally a ring around the I, with the inside matching the background. That wouldn't look good on a helmet. Unfortunately, the letter I is too vertical to look good on a helmet. I think the Illini script wordmark on that helmet above is probably the best choice.

[wILL-INI]

deliver2david, on January 23, 2012 - 11:16, said:

I wish Illinois would put the circle "I" on the helmet or just the "I". I have never liked their script.

The university also doesn't have the rights to that logo, Nike owns it...

[Foxxtrot44]

wILL-INI, on January 23, 2012 - 12:46, said:

deliver2david, on January 23, 2012 - 11:16, said:

I wish Illinois would put the circle "I" on the helmet or just the "I". I have never liked their script.

The university also doesn't have the rights to that logo, Nike owns it...

The more I learn about Illinois' brand, the more shocked I am there isn't a bigger rebrand movement...at least so it seems.

In regards to the helmet...if it's matte blue, I think it's kind of a neat alt idea.

[mfoster]

I still think TCU should change things up to this:




Then again, I also think UT-Chattanooga should use this for a throwback...