College football socks

[Mingjai]

I was wondering if there's a reason other than cost that colleges don't seem to favor the classy-looking uniform socks that many NFL teams wear. In the NFL, there are teams--Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Washington to name a few--wearing socks that are almost iconic, while in college the standard is boring white crew socks (or even ankle socks). I seem to remember a bad trend towards black ankle socks a few years ago in the NCAA.

I haven't seen this discussed, so if it has been talked about before, I apologize.

[DrBear]

One key difference is that the NFL requires long socks (one old-time commissioner apparently had a thing against hairy legs). So the teams were forced to use long socks and made them part of the design. Most colleges - especially down south - love the open-leg look and don't bother with decorative socks.

[Bucky]

I seem to remember a bad trend towards black ankle socks a few years ago in the NCAA.

That trend is definitely still around at the colleges that wear black shoes. Many of the players also wear the ASO ankle brace on both ankles and until recently those braces only came in black.

Personally, if a team is not going to have team socks that come up to the knees like the NFL, I don't think the black shoes and black ankle braces/socks combo is that bad.

Bucky

[dennisbergan]

In the NFL, there are teams--Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Washington to name a few--wearing socks that are almost iconic

No, they are wearing socks that are old and out of style.

The Chiefs need to redesign their entire uniform. Maybe not major changes, but some serious tweaking needs to be done.

The Redskins could look a millon times better in maroon and mustard gold. They would also be unique (no other NFL team has either color in their scheme). The current burgandy and yellow things are way, way past their prime.

The Bears and Colts look fine (although the striped socks on the Colts don't look that good). And, I always felt that the Colts should go to a smaller set of stripes (like they had in the Unitus days) on their pants and jerseys. If they really want a old-school look, why not actually make it a old-school look?

The Bears have a look that can stand the test of time (much like the Packers). The navy pants also look sharp with the white jerseys. The socks can work with this uniform because it is similar to the jersey sleeve stripes.

[ShaftDu]

my UVa Cavs has longer socks. Al Groh wanted to have a NFL feel with the team. Hence he uses longer socks and has the Titans/Ravens stripes.

[pcgd]

The rule in the NCAA is everyone has to wear the same socks. It doesn't matter if they are long, short, black, gold, striped, whatever...just the same. I think its a 15 yard penalty if a player doesn't comply. This goes for all levels.

When I played at Carthage, we wore NFL style black socks (Black on top, white on bottom) Lots of teams wear the long socks, some go striped but few do.