Gonzaga unveiled a new road uniform—complete with the Bulldog logo on the center of the chest—during one of the season’s most thrilling games on Saturday, Jan. 19. North Carolina is next in the line of the 12 total teams to wear the new look.
The Gonzaga uniform, still anchored by Gonzaga Blue (PMS 541), featured a centered Bulldog-head logo above of a centered jersey number on the front, the team’s nickname in place of the player’s name on the back of the jersey and “ZAGS” on the side of the shorts.
Gonzaga, then ranked #8 in the nation, lost at 13th-ranked Butler on a buzzer-beater after turning the ball over with less than four seconds left in the contest.
North Carolina hopes for a better result when it visits North Carolina State on Saturday, Jan. 26. While images haven’t been revealed for the remaining 11 teams wearing the “Nike Hyper Elite Road” jersey and shorts, the Tar Heels will be the next to don the look, which will feature “a logo inspired by each team’s home court” appearing on the jersey’s center chest. The nameplate on the back will highlight references to the team mascot or home crowd, depending on the school.
Following UNC, comes:
• Baylor Lady Bears, Jan. 30
• Villanova Wildcats, Jan. 30
• Southern California Trojans, Jan. 30
• Ohio State Buckeyes, Feb. 5
• Kentucky Wildcats, Feb. 12
• Stanford Cardinal (women), Feb. 15
• Georgetown Hoyas, Feb. 15
• Duke Blue Devils, Feb. 16
• Texas Longhorns, Feb. 16
• Connecticut Huskies (women), March 4
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Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest covering news, culture, sports design and entertainment. He has written on uniforms and sports logos for TIME Magazine, Sports Illustrated and more. You can follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb. Visit his website here.
Josh
Monday, January 21, 2013 at 17:28Carolina already did something like this back in the early 2000s, maybe 2001. It didn't work then and it won't work now. Carolina has one of those timeless jerseys that don't need to be altered very much, if it all.
Leonard
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 17:03I believe the North Carolina road unis had the interlocking "NC" on the front with the number below it. I would agree that these particular unis are out of place. The traditional North Carolina road unis wth the player's number between "North" and "Carolina" are much nicer.
ingmar66
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 06:57Agree with that (the Tarheels sported a huge NC monogram on their chests back then and it looked out of place), but I like this Gonzaga uniform a lot. Except for the socks, they look silly.
Discrim
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 20:25Michigan did something similar at the same time the Heels did (around 99 or so)...that only lasted a year IIRC, though the template stuck around for a few years afterwards, so they put MICHIGAN back on the front, and put small M's on the side panels. IIRC Miami's road unis had the U on the front instead of Miami for a while.
Austin
Friday, January 25, 2013 at 18:27Michigan State is wearing similar jerseys to this design on Sunday against Indiana. Looks similar to their football pro combats as well.
Leonard
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 16:59The Gonzaga unis are awesome, but the unis North Carolina wore in the game against Miami looked totally out of place. I would not be surprised if any of the remaining ACC teams came up with unis similar to the ones North Carolina sported against the Hurricanes. I was watching a college game on TV and noticed that Duke sported road unis with the letter D and the blue devil logo inside the D. I had to admit that uni for the Blue Devils was also out of place. The unis with "Duke" on the front are much better.