Just a couple of weeks after Arizona State unveiled their first set of football uniforms under the adidas umbrella, the Sun Devils have decided that for their season opener against Texas A&M in Houston, Texas, they will cool things down a bit with their new “Desert Ice” alternate uniform. That’s right, they’ve already got a special alt uniform lined up before they’ve even played a game in their brand new regular uniforms. Welcome to college football in 2015, folks.
Here’s a description from ASU’s press release on the matter:
Developed in collaboration with Sun Devil Athletics, the new special edition uniform pays homage to the state’s nickname and identity as the “Copper State.” Inspired by the school’s iconic logo, the ‘Desert Ice’ design is centered around an oversized polished copper version of the pitchfork, which is highlighted with a metallic back outline and prominently featured on the helmet and pants.
Additionally, the jersey features a polished copper shoulder pad design that incorporates a pitchfork spike theme into the stripes. To complete the look, the helmet and jersey feature matching polished copper numbers with metallic black outlines. Providing form and function, the metallic numbers and stripes are laser cut and serrated, allowing for maximum ventilation and flexibility.
Copper, one of Arizona’s ‘5 C’s’ – Cattle, Copper, Citrus, Cotton and Climate, was introduced as an official school color as part of a university-wide rebrand in 2011. The ‘5 C’s’ represent the top driving forces that launched the economy and eventually the statehood of Arizona. In fact since 1910, Arizona has produced more copper than all other 49 states combined, lending to the name of the “Copper State”.
The Sun Devils had a copper alternate uniform under the Nike umbrella and wore it last year against Notre Dame (which was probably one of the biggest contrast in uniform styles that you’ll ever see), so this isn’t ASU’s first go around with copper. This also isn’t ASU’s first time going all white, as the team wore an “Icy White” alt uniform during the 2013 season.
If the helmets are anything like the “Icy White” alts from 2013, then there will probably be numbers on the left side of the helmet, while the oversized pitchfork will dominate the right side of the helmet.
Overall, it’s definitely an interesting look, and isn’t all that bad for a one-time affair. It’s definitely better than last year’s uniform, in my opinion. Do you all agree, or do you think that they should leave copper alone altogether?
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