Kansas Jayhawks Unveil Alternate Uniforms For This & Next Season

The Kansas Jayhawks will have an old school look tonight as they take on their in-state rivals Kansas State, as their basketball program officially unveiled a set of throwback-inspired uniforms today. These uniforms will not only be worn tonight, but also “intermittently throughout rest of the 2013-14 season and into the 2014-15 campaign,” says the school via their official press release.

The CHALK uniforms (aka the home alternates) are mostly cream with blue trim, with the Jayhawk’s head making an appearance on the shorts in just blue & cream. The school says that the Jayhawk comes from 1946, but according to our extensive database, there isn’t too much difference between the Jayhawk that was adopted in 1946 & the one that is currently used today. Either way, keeping the colors minimal helps to enhance the throwback feel of the uniforms.

While the CHALK uniforms get their inspiration from the 1940s, the grey PHOG uniforms (aka the road alternates) seem to be largely inspired from the team’s look back in the 80s. The press release says as much when they say that the uniforms are inspired by what the 1988 National Championship squad wore, right down to the circus font “K” on the shorts.

Each uniform has sublimated pinstripes, with each pinstripe reading the following:

Pay Heed. The game you love began here. Respect those who came before you. Make their legacy your own. Because destiny favors the dedicated. And rings don’t replace work. In this game you don’t get what you want. You get what you earn. We are Kansas. Together we rise. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Strangely enough, these don’t appear on the CHALK jerseys (as you can see in the featured image) but they do on the shorts. Meanwhile, they are on both the jerseys and shorts on the PHOG uniforms. It’s a strange inconsistency, but it doesn’t seem to bring down the spirit of these uniforms.

All in all, it’s a decent faux-back set for the storied program, as it tries to stay true to the varied looks that the basketball program has worn over the years while also trying to give a modern spin on it (which results in a somewhat unwelcome appearance of the adidas logo in white splotched onto a big blue patch, but I guess you’ve gotta get the manufacturer’s name out there somehow.). But what do you think? Do you like this set for Kansas or do you think that they should have kept these with the faux mothballs? As always, be sure to let your voice be heard in the comments section!