NCAA Football Concepts: Group of Five + Indepedent Schools (Tulane, 28/67)

[mahnkej]

On 2/20/2023 at 11:02 AM, GriffinM6 said:

Just wanted to say you've done a great job on this series so far. Sorry that there's been a lack of feedback. ECU is probably my favorite so far. 

Thanks much, I appreciate that! S'all good, I'm not a professional by any means so I'm just doing these for fun. It is nice to be able to pick other people's brains, get a clearer idea of what does and doesn't work, etc. 

[mahnkej]

Appalachian State Mountaineers

 

First team up from the Sun Belt Conference are the owners of one of the greatest upsets of all time. Changes I made are summarized as follows:

 

• Changed the number font to a standard block font
• Added a subdued mountain logo onto the sleeves, superimposed with their primary "A" logo
• Used the secondary logo on the jersey collars, to break up the heavy use of the "A" everywhere else in the look
• Dropped all stripes from the helmet and pants. Normally I'm not a fan of this, but sometimes plain designs work best
• Changed around the gold uniform a bit, using black numbers with white trim

 

[mahnkej]

San Jose State Spartans

 

The Spartans' current set, while not terrible, feels a bit stale and uninteresting to me. I went back to something a bit more like their previous-gen style, with some modern touches. I changed the player/number font to something more aggressive, and used gold numbers on the home uniforms. I also used the primary Spartan logo on the sleeves, while the interlocking "SJ" secondary logo is used as an accent instead. Pants get a side stripe to match the helmets. Helmets themselves stay mostly the same, as I really like their use of the spear logo. An all-white alternate uniform, with gold-heavy accent colors, rounds out the set. 

 

[eegl75]

what is going on with the helmet stripe

[mahnkej]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:43 PM, eegl75 said:

what is going on with the helmet stripe

It's supposed to be a spear. The way I drew it originally was a little jacked up... might've been hard to tell what it was. It's fixed now.

[eegl75]

looks better now

[mahnkej]

Fresno State Bulldogs

 

As is the case with App State, sometimes simple works best. As such, I didn't make any major changes to Fresno State's look, though I did add a few accents.  A incorporated a  green "V" logo on the rear neckline to match the one on their helmet, and also added a touch of green to the inner collars as a nod to the area's agricultural industry. Inside collar wordmark is Fresno State's unofficial motto "Pride Of The Valley." 

 

[mahnkej]

Connecticut Huskies

 

With some time off work to recover from knee surgery + March Madness going on, I've definitely been watching a lot of basketball lately. Watching UConn utterly dominate their opponents on their way to the Final Four got me thinking... what about their counterparts on the gridiron? Honestly, I didn't even know Connecticut had a football team until I looked it up (and as expected, they kinda suck). Maybe giving their boring uniforms a touch of the magic from the basketball team could breath some life the program?

 

I stuck with the split stripe design from the basketball jerseys, and included it on the sides of the these. Normally I hate side stripes on football uniforms, but this is one case where I'd make an exception. Number font stays as is, with subdued red accents on the sleeves and jersey collars to really make the white & navy blue pop. Primary helmet logo is changed from the double outlined block C to the Husky logo. Finally, I also added a couple of "modern throwbacks" (based on these excellent jerseys) to round out this set.

 

[mahnkej]

FAU Owls

 

This one goes in a bit more of a traditional direction, with the sleeve pattern from the 2000's era making a comeback. 5-stripe pattern is included on helmets, jerseys, and pants. Primary owl logo is used on the helmets, and TV numbers are used on the sleeves. Chest wordmark is a simple, stylized "FAU". Secondary Florida logo is used as an accent on the pants + back neckline.

 

First alternate uniform is a navy blue jersey, with red helmets + pants. 2nd alternate is where things get a little different. Uniform set is all-red, with chest wordmark + pant stripes modeled after their excellent men's basketball uniforms. I also included a palm tree logo on the backs of the helmet as an accent.

 

[GriffinM6]

UCONN and FAU both look fantastic. My only gripe is with the knee striping on UCONN. It would definitely look better if you only kept the vertical striping. 

[mahnkej]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:37 PM, GriffinM6 said:

UCONN and FAU both look fantastic. My only gripe is with the knee striping on UCONN. It would definitely look better if you only kept the vertical striping. 

Thanks, I appreciate that! You're right, UConn would definitely look cleaner with those extra stripes removed. Here's what they're like with just vertical stripes on the pants:

 

[mahnkej]

New Mexico Lobos

 

For this set, I went back to using the proprietary school athletic font for names and numbers, and changed the helmet up to make greater use of the secondary lobo logo. Stripes are also dropped from the helmet. Uniforms themselves get a bit of an overhaul. I moved the TV numbers from the sleeves to the shoulders, and on the sleeves I added a subdued version of the sun logo from the New Mexico state flag. Pants get a small stripe with a decorative "Southwest Style" pattern, as a nod to the Native American culture of that area.

 

Alternate uniform is a turquoise (which looks fantastic on the baseball field IMO), while the pants & helmet utilize their secondary "NM" logo. Chest wordmark is changed from "New Mexico" to "Lobos".  

 

[mahnkej]

Utah State Aggies

 

I didn't deviate too far from their current look for this concept, as I think Utah State has a good thing going. Nice balance between clean & crisp, while also being unique. I kept their stripe pattern on the jerseys and pants, and also struck with their proprietary number font. Main change I made was playing with the color balance. Numbers switch to all white w/ gray trim on the home jerseys, while the road jerseys get a bit more silver trim. I also added an alternate grey jersey as a third uniform.

 

2nd alternate look is based on this set from last season. Uniform is all white, chest wordmark is changed to "Aggies", and TV numbers are replaced with their alternate Aggies "A" logo. Their secondary bull logo is also used on the helmet, while stripe pattern is changed to a traditional style. 

 

Next team up will be UNLV, which will finish off the Mountain West Conference. 

 

[mahnkej]

UNLV Rebels

 

Last team up from the Mountain West is the UNLV Rebels. Apart from the colors and number font, this is one I opted to overhaul entirely. For starters, I re-incorporated the old alternate logo (which for some reason, they only used for one season). I also went away from using chrome numbers on all the jerseys, opting to only use this on the black jerseys. I kept the beautiful "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" decal on the helmets, and also incorporated the 8-point star from that famous sign on the shoulder area.*

 

*I got this idea from the Dallas Cowboys' throwback uniforms

 

For the pants, I brought back the star pattern from the previous-gen uniforms to use as a decal on the sides. Jerseys use a simple two-stripe pattern I made, with the thin silver accent stripe being a nod to the State of Nevada, aka "The Silver State."

 

[mahnkej]

Bowling Green Falcons

 

First team up from the Mid-American Conference is Bowling Green. I think the Falcons' current set (which honestly looks a lot like their in-state counterparts the Cleveland Browns) is pretty solid overall; only thing I'm not completely sold on is the angled stripes on the sleeves/pants. Looks a little too much like a ripoff of Boise State for me.

 

I used traditional horizontal stripes instead, and also added a traditional 3-stripe pattern to the pants. Alternate uniform uses the same design style as the regular uniforms, just with a darker palette of brown and orange only. I also used this old school decal on the helmet in place of the primary "BG" logo.

 

[mahnkej]

SMU Mustangs

 

With their beautiful colors and classic look, SMU isn't a team in need of any major changes. The biggest change I did make, was to keep the striping  pattern consistent across all sets. I also changed the sleeve stripes on the jerseys to a double-outlined pattern, influenced heavily by the Buffalo Bills (let's be real, it's a natural fit). 

 

For my alternate design, I retained SMU's excellent secondary logo on the helmet, and also introduced a set of royal blue pants. Number font is a variation of the Toronto Blue Jays with the inner number piping to match the style of the Dallas "D" logo. Cursive "Dallas" chest wordmark and 214 decal on the helmet are a nod to the city of Dallas.

 

[mahnkej]

South Florida Bulls

 

I went back to something a little closer to their Under Armour years, minus the ridiculous stuff (no crazy color gradients, no obnoxiously huge helmet logos, etc). TV numbers are moved to the sleeves, and I brought back the horn stripes on the sleeves. Both shades of green and gold are darkened up slightly to give better contrast. I also substituted the stylized "USF" wordmark, in place of the primary logo on the chest. The sleeve hornes also become double outlined, to match the player numbers.

 

Gold jersey + green pants and helmets give them some additional options to mix and match looks. An all-green uniform with gold numbers rounds out the set.

 

[mahnkej]

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

 

I changed this look to be a "fauxback" of sorts, based on these excellent throwback jerseys from 2021. Red becomes the primary home uniform color again, with royal blue as a third option. Helmet is changed to include the full Tulsa primary logo, outlined in white.  Number font is also tweaked.

 

For my 2nd alternate uniform, I created a gold jersey with sleeves incorporating the beautiful City of Tulsa flag. Elements from this flag are also used as accents on the helmet and rear neckline. Finally, I made an oversized Carolina Hurricanes-like secondary logo (which I derived from Tulsa's old secondary logo) and used this on the helmet decal.

 

[mahnkej]

Tulane Green Wave

 

I like the traditional design of Tulane's jerseys, and it goes especially well with their unique colors. As such, the main thing I did was to standardize the design. Helmets + pants get a 3-stripe pattern, while the jerseys get 5 stripes. TV numbers are also added to the jersey shoulders. Primary helmet logo is the older "T" style logo, as I much prefer this one over the "Angry Wave" logo. Finally, I added three small fleur-de-lis on the inside jersey collars as a nod to the City of New Orleans.

 

I also feature the fleur-de-lis more prominently on my 2nd alternate jersey, which contains them on the jersey shoulders. This jersey also features a stylized "Green Wave" on the sleeves and pants, which is an idea I got from the basketball program.