Taking it back to the U-N-I-VER-SI-TIES...

[tBBP]

Did y'all miss me? Well guess what...big "B" is "b"ack up in this piece! Might have been gone for a minute, but the concept game...oh fo' sho I'm STILL up in it!

For those who wish to view previous concepts in this series, here's a list of the ones I done already did:

South Florida Bulls

North Carolina Tar Heels

Wyoming Cowboys

Minnesota Golden Gophers

And so now...boy, oh boy...time to head on down to Gainesville, Florida, not even a good hour away from Tallahassee...and let's go see 'bout them Gators down there.

Before I get going on this, I HAVE to put this out there: garnet and gold runs through my veins, and as such, I'm inclined to hate any and everything having to do with the University of Florida AND its Gators. HOWEVER, I ain't a complete hater, and the success of the football and basketball programs at that institution did NOT go unnoticed by me. Add to that the fact that the school is the University of my home state and, well...you get the idea.

This was actually going to be presented as the first part of a rivalry series I was cooking up in conjunction with UF's chief rival school (*COUGH* FLORIDA STATE *COUGH COUGH*)...but due to time, or lack thereof, I scrapped that idea, and as such, this is being presented as a single concept...after having spent the last three months trying to figure this thing out from start to finish. So here it is.

First, some background on the institution. It's worth noting that UF and FSU's longstanding rivalry runs WAY deeper than athletics. In actuality, these two schools' histories are so intertwined it isn't even funny. Start with the fact that the original University of Florida actually still stands about, oh, say, an hour or so west-northwest of where the current UF campus is located. (I'm telling you...it's a weird, deep story...stay tuned to this series, and you'll get the other part of this story!) Some people will say that the university's roots can be traced back as far as 1836, when Congress first passed authorization for a "University of Florida", at which time it was understood there would be two seminaries--one to the west of the Suwanee River (guess what that campus is now called?), and one to the east, which in 1851 was founded as the East Florida Seminary in Ocala, FL. Some years later, The state legislature passed a revision that united the different campuses (the Florida Agricultural College at Lake City, the current East Florida Seminary, which by this point had been relocated to Gainesville, the St. Petersburg Normal & Industrial School, and the Florida Military College) into the University of the State of Florida, and in doing so, two new institutions were created (stay with me here--this gets a little complicated): The Florida Female College (which was actually the precursor to the current Florida State University) and the State Normal School for Colored Students, which later became--you still with me?--the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, or FAMU (for those who never knew what that acronym stood for), the historically black university directly across the street from FSU's campus.

Still with me? Okay...good.

Anyway, sometime around 1911 or so the alligator was chosen as the school's mascot, and blue and orange (which, aside from being Florida's official state colors, were, coincidentally also colors of the original UF at Lake City and the East Florida Seminary in Gainesville) were adopted to represent the university. Why the gator? Well...according to urban legen floating around Gainesville (or at least the story I heard when i was there) is that there were so many of them in the marshes in and around Gainesville that it was only natural to choose the alligator to represent the school. Believe that if you wish--but whatever...that's the school's mascot. During the 1940's, enrollment demand got really high, and as such, the University of Florida board of directors funneles a lot of men over to the Florida College for Women, UF's western arm in Tallahassee, and in 1947, that institution became co-ed, in effect, creating what we all know today as--I mentioned it before--Florida State University. See...I told you these two schools share some tangled webs!

Okay...enough of that. Now on the sports part of all this. That institution has actually produced its fair share of stars. Of course, we all know who the most famous of those stars is...yeah, Mr. Heisman (of '65) Steve Spurrier, Mr. Gator himself. Of course, there's another well-known alum from there...the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith (who, it should be noted, also hails from my hometown of Pensacola, FL, and who, interestingly enough, was also a Gator in high school--at Escambia High in Pensacola, whose colors were ALSO blue and orange--and by the way, damn near everything at that school is named after him now). There are other notable alums from UF, among them they guy who broke most of Emmitt's records at UF, former Buccaneer runnign back Errict Rhett (remember him?), current color analyst Cris Collinsworth (yeah...how many of you knew THAT?), current Jaguar running back Fred Taylor, some guy by the name of Jevon Kearse, that guy who QB's the Bears, Rex Grossman, and his Bear teammate Alex Brown, that one receiver who just got cut by the Patriots, Reche Caldwell--oh, and this one guy who had an absolutely brilliant career for the L.A. Rams back in the '70s and '80s--the guy who played in the '79 Super Bowl on one leg...yeah, that guy, Jack Youngblood. (That surprised the hell out of me.)

So now on to the concept...

First, let me say this (as painful as this is with me bleeding garnet and sweating gold): I believe the Gators have some of the absolute best uniforms in the college game today. So how could I have possibly gone about making a concept for such a well-dressed team? Well, I'll tell you what I didn't do: follow the direction of their 1965 throwbacks. That too is a gorgeous set...but that would have been taking the easy way out. I wanted to challenge myself, as well as come up with something that would signify this new era--the Urban Meyer era--in Gator football. Something much edgier than their current set, but not TOO far over said edge. And speaking of edge, has anyone seen UF's new typography? If you've paid attention to the Gator basketball squad, you have. And THAT'S the direction I took. As a matter of fact, this concept is pretty much inspired by those Gator basketball uniforms. I didn't overdo the piping in this set (yes I said PIPING...hold on, you ain't even seen it yet!), but I did notice the pattern of the piping on the basketball uniforms and translated that same effect onto my concept set. For the jerseys, the home is the blue they've always had, only now conpletely devoid of stripes, the road is white, and, just for the sake of doing it, I introduced a new orange alt, which actually harkens back to the Collinsworth/E. Smith days of Gator lore. Take a look below:

(DISCLAIMER: I straight guessed on the numbers 6-9 and 0, because, as it happens, the UF basketball squads DON'T USE NUMBERS ABOVE 5...so if someone who knows what the rest of the Gator typography set looks like wants to look at those and confirm how close I am to the real thing, I'd sho appreciate it...)

And now that you've seen that, let's get on to the set. The primary home follows the traditional home uni pattern: orange helmet, blue jersey, and white pants. Oh--about that helmet: I've always hated that cursive "Gators" script, but, as it happens, UF really HAS no other logo to stick on those helmets (and the Gator logo is NOT a helmet logo, by the way), so...I reached back into the past and went with the capital letter "F", in blue, trimmed in white. A far as the helmet stripe...wasn't really much I could do with that, so I thinned it up a little, but it's still blue/white/blue. In the home set, you'll also notice that the pants have a little piping running through them too...leading to the "Florida" wordmark on the pants stripe, mimicking the stripe on the Florida basketball uniforms. Yes, I know--radical departure from the norm here, but that's what I was going for. Socks? solid orange, to match the helmet. Road set? White over white, in the same style. in the first draft, I included orange pants to complete road set #2, even though the Gators rarely wear them on the road these days--but white-over-orange is what I remember growing up (I'm sure many others do, as well). In my second draft, there is a third road set that includes blue pants, such as is the current norm for the Gator squad, for reasons that I have yet to figure out other than them winning the 1996 National Championship AGAINST MY SEMINOLES in them, and in that draft you will find the 3rd/alt set that includes the orange-over-white look of the '80s, along with an orange-over-blue set (that was just to satisfy potential curiosity).

Well...my final take on this set? It's a fresh, new, edgier look for the school which hypothetically would signal the new era of athletics--no, take that back--WINNING athletics. (Can't believe I'm saying all this as a dedicated 'Nole!) I'm still not 100% sold on all the little details...but after three months of working on this, I figure it's time to let you all see it, so here they are...holla back at me about my concept set for...

...The Florida Gators!

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

[Shumway]

Wow, nicely done. I'm all for simple uniforms for FLorida, but you've blown me away here. The piping's simple enough that it actually works as a design element, rather than something slapped on in place of stripes. I'm not too big on the number font, but it's not awful. I just don't like italicized numbers. They look much, much better in action in your absolutely disgusting(in a good way) template. I generally like the "Gators" script on the helmet, but with what you've done here, it'd probably look out of place. The "F" is the best way to go. There's possibly a few too many uniform options(no blue/orange though?), but all of em look great, so why not have that many? I like this set almost as much as your Wyoming one(the link's not working, btw). Great stuff, as usual.

[PackerBadger]

Absolutely outstanding. (I wouldn't use the all-white or the orange over blue, but that's just me.) I don't like the number font either (reminds one of the titles from the last season of "Get Smart," BTW), but that's Florida's fault, not yours.

So when are you doing FSU? (Or my alma mater, Bucky, for that matter.)

[3wide.com]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, theres very little that excites me about a 'concept' that consists of an all white shirt with different colored trim. It looks like quality work, sure, but to me its nothing more than a pretty picture, the uniforms themselves look like a standard issue football template (ie: a basically plain shirt with striped pants) with the appropriate colors filled in.

[lets_go_red]

Fantastic...just like all your sets, I can't wait to see more from you...definitely one of the best designers here.

As for Florida- you made a great uniform better...love the F instead of the Gators

[Sguse1]

Great set thats for sure. One of the best designers on here buuuut the only thing is, IS it looks a taaad too much like Illinois to me.

[Claystation360]

nice , very interesting outlook & way of moderizing it . Now let's see some Garnet & Gold .

[sacker12]

Those look very nice. It's a little odd not seeing the "Gators" script on it, but it still looks nice.

[Moser316]

I'd like to see the colors on the "F" reversed, but that's the only change I think that needs to be made. You've absolutely nailed it.

[DelayedPenalty]

Oh my lord Bucco, those are absolutely perfect! Amazing work once again! The home and 3rd alt set #2 are gorgeous! I can't really say any one particular thing that stands out because the whole package is awesome! I was going to suggest incorporating the Gator logo somewhere on the uniform, but I just noticed it on the chest. My only suggestion, and it's not even a change in what you've done, would be a blue helmet alternate, similar to set 3. Amazing work!!

[swilson160]

These are great! I like what they have now as well as the throwbacks, but if they switched to these, I wouldn't have any complaints. Great work again!

[illwauk]

(DISCLAIMER: I straight guessed on the numbers 6-9 and 0, because, as it happens, the UF basketball squads DON'T USE NUMBERS ABOVE 5...so if someone who knows what the rest of the Gator typography set looks like wants to look at those and confirm how close I am to the real thing, I'd sho appreciate it...)

Actually, none of the NCAA basketball teams use numbers higher than 5 (nor do high schools in most states). It makes it easier for the officials to signal which player they're calling a foul on (since most of us only have 5 digits on each hand).

As for the concept... another hit. And the Gators are one team that could really use an update. The only thing I might change is putting the gator on the helmet. I think he gator being the unis only green element could work in the same vein as the Chiefs arrowhead or the Dodgers red numbers.

[kewp80]

At first I was a little skeptic, but then after a couple seconds I was like... Damn! Those are sweet! Usually I don't like messing with tradition, but you nailed it right here! It's got tradition and new age suave all in one. Absolutely beautiful!

[Davey]

I like it. Not that I don't like what they have now, but It would be a great update imo. Great work like aways. BTW that first template you have, is that for use *smiles* ?

[SG30]

Thats really nice. Great work!

[lost_limey]

As others have said, this concept is pretty :censored:ing sweet. My only gripe is the Florida on the pants. I know why it's there and what you set out to do, it just doesn't work for me.

Hoping to see UVA from you one day, but I can understand if blue and orange are colors you don't want to revisit right now :-)

[tBBP]

Thanks to all who've responded thus far.

This is one of about seven or eight I've had cookin' in my concept kitchen for a while now. Can't say how many more of those I'll release in the near-future, but there WILL be more out of this series...you can bet your chips on that one.

A couple remarks:

nice , very interesting outlook & way of moderizing it . Now let's see some Garnet & Gold .

It's coming...it's coming. In fact, it's just about ready to go now...just gotta fine-tune some things. I think that one might surprise a few people...as is the case with this UF concept, it keeps the overall look of the current set, but yet and still is a pretty up-and-forward modernization of those current sets. The aim? To make it more, shall I say, aggressive...

I like it. Not that I don't like what they have now, but It would be a great update imo. Great work like aways. BTW that first template you have, is that for use *smiles* ?

The template being referred to here is that new jersey template you see above the uniform sets. It's a new one I created for what was going to be my rivalry series...but I rolled that back into this series here. It's an Illustrator file, but for you Inkscapers, I can make an .svg version of it. Get at me with your contact info if you want to use it.

At first I was a little skeptic, but then after a couple seconds I was like... Damn! Those are sweet! Usually I don't like messing with tradition, but you nailed it right here! It's got tradition and new age suave all in one. Absolutely beautiful!

That was my unstated overall goal with this set...and really, that's also the goal for every concept I do, especially with this college FB series. Guess, at least to one pair of eyeballs, I achieved that.

Hoping to see UVA from you one day, but I can understand if blue and orange are colors you don't want to revisit right now :-)

That, believe it or not, is currently sitting in my concept cooler, waiting to be cooked. (READ: it's been on my list for a while now.)

Can't tell you what I'll be showing next...guess you'll just have to stay tuned!

[3wide.com]

Thanks to all who've responded thus far.

This is one of about seven or eight I've had cookin' in my concept kitchen for a while now. Can't say how many more of those I'll release in the near-future, but there WILL be more out of this series...you can bet your chips on that one.

Not to be over critcal, but i hope the other six or seven you've had in your kitchen consist of more than a solid color shirt with a miniscule line of piping

[LucaMaz3]

Great work, as always, Bucco. I have always loved the F and I agree that they should use it regulary over the gator mark.

On the uniforms, the piping looks really solid. I think it, and the pants stripes, conforms to today's goal of a sleek look, but remains classy. However, I really like the sleeve stripes that the Gators have now, so any way to incorporate it would be really cool. The only concern I have is about the shirt-pants combo. Browsing through the possibilities, I would go with blue-on-orange at home (because the orange pants look sweet) and white-and-orange on the road, rather than the white-on-white look you have now. Still, it's a great concept, and I look forward to seeing FSU.

A (Plus points for the fascinating history)

[tBBP]

Thanks to all who've responded thus far.

This is one of about seven or eight I've had cookin' in my concept kitchen for a while now. Can't say how many more of those I'll release in the near-future, but there WILL be more out of this series...you can bet your chips on that one.

Not to be over critcal, but i hope the other six or seven you've had in your kitchen consist of more than a solid color shirt with a miniscule line of piping

...Says the guy with, as of this posting, 57 posts, none having to do with football, and one Colorado Avalanche concept post to his credit.

How 'bout YOU show ME how YOU want my next football concept done...so that it meets YOUR level of approval.

Look...I'm not one to fan flames, especially on a forum board, but I'm a BIG believer in production as well as the concept of "show and prove"...and I believe my track record speaks for itself. And I'm only taking it here now because this is not the first time you've left comments such as the ones you've left in this concept in one of my topics. So here's the challenge: come up with something that YOU believe is properly befitting of a "creative" football concept--something more than "just a solid-color shirt with a miniscule line of piping", post it, and then allow the court of CCSLC public opinion try you on the basis of uniqueness and creativity--and then we ALL can see just what level you are on, design-wise.

*EXTENDS ARM AND OUTSTRETCHED HAND, CUES VOICE OF HOWIE MANDEL* So, Mr. 3wide.com...deal, or NO deal?