The college football season is finally upon us, with Illinois hosting Nebraska in the first of several games on Saturday afternoon. With that, SportsLogos.net has compiled a comprehensive list of all of the uniform changes that have take place this offseason below.
ACC
Boston College
Perhaps one of the more interesting developments of the offseason, the Eagles athletic department moved from Under Armour to New Balance this spring. However, the football team signed an exclusive deal with adidas that resulted in simplified uniforms that feature a throwback logo on the sleeves and chest and a new shade of gold on the helmets.
Clemson
The Tigers have a new three-dimensional front helmet bumper, a result of the ACC no longer mandating the conference logo be placed in that spot.
Duke
So, too, do the Blue Devils, who placed the “Bull City” hand gesture on their front bumper as a nod to the city of Durham, which earned that nickname in the late 1800s when the Blackwell Tobacco Company named its product “Bull” Durham Tobacco.
Florida State
The Seminoles are celebrating their 75th season with a commemorative logo, though it’s unclear if it will appear on their jerseys this season. They’ll also have a new front helmet bumper, which reads “Noles.”
Georgia Tech
Keeping with the theme, the Yellow Jackets will have a three-dimensional “ATL” on their front bumpers, with the “T” in a contrasting color for Tech. They also retired the No. 44 for the 2021 season in honor of the former Atlanta Braves outfielder Hank Aaron, who passed away in January at the age of 86.
Louisville
The Cardinals will wear a helmet decal this season in honor of legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger, who passed away in March at the age of 87.
Miami (Fla.)
The Hurricanes have replaced the block font on their uniforms with their Dade Bold font, as well as enclosed their logo within a shield on the chest. They’ll also don helmet decals in Schnellenberger’s memory.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels will now wear their foot logo on the front helmet bumper.
N.C. State
The Wolfpack will wear a new helmet featuring their “Slobbering Wolf” logo for their Sept. 2 game against USF. The helmet features a brick pattern synonymous with N.C. State’s campus.
Big Ten
Illinois
The Illini made several small changes to their uniforms, including the addition of a white facemask, a blue and white stripe on the helmet and white outline around the Block “I” on the helmet and pants.
Iowa
The Hawkeyes have names the field at Kinnick Stadium after Duke Slater, who was the first black athlete in school history to earn All-American honors and led Iowa to the 1921 national championship. His name will be placed at the 25-yard lines.
Maryland
The Terrapins will wear the road version of their 1980s throwback uniforms, which feature the iconic Script Terps on the helmet, for their game against West Virginia on Sept. 4.
Michigan
The Wolverines will wear new helmet decals this season that represent the number of wins in program history, rivalry victories, academic and athletic honors or player’s captaincy, among other notably achievements.
Michigan State
The Spartans unveiled a new helmet option that pulls inspiration from the uniforms worn by the basketball team on their way to the 1979 national championship. The white helmets feature a script “State” on both sides with a green facemask.
Minnesota
The Golden Gophers will wear new black alternate uniforms with a maroon helmet black and white decals for the season opener against Ohio State on Sept. 2.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a helmet decal that displays the twin towers of the World Trade Center along with the phrase “Never Forget” for their game against Oregon that day. Offensive tackle Thayer Munford will also wear a special patch in honor of being this year’s Block “O” jersey recipient, as offensive lineman are not permitted to wear anything other than No. 50-79.
Wisconsin
The Badgers will wear alternate uniforms for their Shamrock Series game against Notre Dame on Sept. 25 that pay homage to the more than 70,000 soldiers who received their training at the site of Camp Randall Stadium during the American Civil War.
Big XII
Iowa State
The Cyclones will wear new front helmet bumpers in honor of Jack Trice, the first black athlete in school history who tragically died from injuries suffered during a game in 1923. They wore the graphic as a patch last season.
Texas
The Longhorns replaced the turf at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at Campbell-Williams Field with a new design that features a sublimated state outline at the 50-yard line and an updated font in the end zones.
Pac-12
Arizona
The Wildcats will now wear their Desert Swarm throwback uniforms on a permanent basis, including a new road that pays homage to the most-successful era in school history.
Oregon
The Ducks unveiled new uniforms that pull elements from some of the program’s past designs while also keeping their overall look intact. The pattern inside the numbers and on the sleeves is supposed to mimic flying ducks, while the overall shoulder design is seemingly a blend of Oregon’s diamond-plate uniforms (2006-09) and alternates worn during the 2017 Alamo Bowl and the following season.
UCLA
The Bruins had an ugly breakup with Under Armour this offseason but rebounding nicely by signing with Jordan Brand. That resulted in new uniforms featuring the Jumpman logo, and while not much changed in the overall design, the shade of gold on the helmets was updated.
Utah
The Utes will wear alternate uniforms against Oregon on Nov. 20 that are inspired by the USS Salt Lake City, a heavy cruiser that saw more combat than any other ship in the Pacific Fleet during World War II. Utah also replaced the turf at Rice-Eccles Stadium and swapped the Block “U” for an Interlocking “U” at midfield.
Washington
The Huskies replaced the turf at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium with an updated design that features the phrase “The Greatest Setting” in the bench area as a nod to the stadium’s views of Mount Rainier, Lake Washington and the Seattle skyline.
SEC
Missouri
The Tigers unveiled new uniforms this offseason that center around a consistent striping pattern and pay homage to some of the earliest conference championships in school history.
Tennessee
The Volunteers will wear new black alternate uniforms that featured orange numbers, an orange Power “T” on the collar and an orange Nike Swoosh this season. The jerseys leaked online this summer, which is why it’s unclear what the helmet and pants will look like.
Texas A&M
The Aggies unveiled new simplified uniforms prior to last season but made a small tweak this offseason, as the maroon home jerseys now have contrasting sleeve cuffs.
Vanderbilt
After several years with an anchor at the forefront of their design, the Commodores unveiled more traditional uniforms this offseason. They’ve replaced their iconic Star “V” on the sides with a Block “V” and replaced the anchor and chain helmet stripe with Brashier stripes that can also be seen on the pants.
Independents
BYU
The Cougars have added new navy and royal blue helmets to the rotation this season, both of which follow the same design as BYU’s traditional white helmet, which features an Oval “Y” on both sides and two contrasting stripes down the middle. This, combined with swapping facemask colors, gives the program 26 different uniform combinations.
Notre Dame
Despite the game being played at Chicago’s Solider Field, the Fighting Irish will wear Green Bay Packers-inspired uniforms for their Shamrock Series game against Wisconsin. The uniforms were actually supposed to be worn during last year’s meeting at Lambeau Field, but that game was cancelled amid the pandemic
American Athletic Conference
Cincinnati
The Bearcats have replaced the turf at Nippert Stadium, which now features a sewn-in design after Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati moved into its own stadium this year.
East Carolina
After several years of wearing uniforms with pirate imagery on the pants, East Carolina unveiled a simplified design this offseason that includes gold numbers and typography on the purple home jerseys. There is now a large contrasting stripe down the sides of the pants.
Houston
The Cougars will celebrate the 75th year of their athletic department this season, but it’s unclear if they’ll wear the logo on any of their uniforms.
Navy
The Midshipmen will wear alternate uniforms for their Sept. 11 game against Air Force that are inspired by the Marine Corps’ iconic “Dress Blue A” ensemble. They’ve also updated their standard home and road uniforms to Under Armour’s latest template, which resulted in a larger workmark, numbers and striping pattern on the shoulders.
SMU
The Mustangs will wear a blue home version of their City of Dallas uniforms this season. There are a few notable differences between the home and road sets, as the latter – which debuted in 2019 – includes sleeve stripes and a traditional number font.
Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane have swapped their two-flag hurricane warning sign front helmet bumpers for a three-dimensional “Tulsa” wordmark. The back bumper, which has been traditionally left blank, now says “Hurricane.”
UCF
The Knights will wear space-themed alternate uniforms for the fifth straight season this fall. While it’s unclear what they’ll look like or when they’ll be worn, the uniforms will be inspired by the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Conference USA
Charlotte
After unveiling new athletic logos and typography ahead of the 2020 season, the 49ers have repurposed their chrome gold helmet and updated the turf at McColl-Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium to prominently display the new marks.
Florida Atlantic
The Owls renamed their field after the aforementioned Schnellenberger and added a new red alternate uniform with blue and white UCLA stripes to match their home blue and road white jerseys.
Old Dominion
The Monarchs unveiled new “Carol Hudson Blue” alternate uniforms as a nod to their former sports information director, Carol Hudson, who worked at the university for more than four decades before his retirement in 2015.
Rice
The Owls replaced the turf at Rice Stadium with a design that features the Old English R and state outline at midfield and the full team name in both end zones.
Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles unveiled new uniforms this offseason that feature single-color numbers and a stock adidas catalog sleeve and pants stripe, as well as the first white helmet in school history alternate with their standard black lid.
UAB
The Blazers will celebrate the opening of 45,000-seat Protective Stadium with an inaugural season logo, though it’s unclear if the logo will be worn as a patch this season.
Mid-American Conference
Akron
The Zips moved from adidas to Nike this offseason and received new uniforms as a result. We’ve only seen the road version, which is quite simple and features single-color numbers and the program’s peeping kangaroo logo on the collar.
Bowling Green
Although they unveiled new uniforms ahead of the 2019 season, the Falcons have been wearing the pants from their previous set for the last two years. That’s no longer the case, as their new pants include the same stripe as the sleeves.
Miami (Ohio)
The RedHawks also simplified their uniforms this offseason, removing the shoulder yoke from the jerseys, shrinking the Miami wordmark on the chest and replacing the silver outlines on the number and wordmark with black. They’ve swapped the single stripe on the helmet for two thin stripes.
Ohio
The Bobcats’ seniors will wear an Ohio-shaped patch on the left shoulder that includes a large “S” and the word “senior” across the center.
Western Michigan
The Broncos rolled out new logos and a simplified color scheme this offseason, but we’ve only seen the road jersey, which includes the logo on the collar and single-color UCLA stripes on the shoulders.
Mountain West
Air Force
The Falcons will wear alternate uniforms for their Sept. 11 game against Navy that are designed after the Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses that flew in Operation Linebacker II, an aerial bombing campaign conducted against targets in Vietnam in December 1972.
Colorado State
The Rams will wear new white helmets featuring a vintage sailor-cap ram logo with green and orange stripes down the center for their annual Ag Day game.
Fresno State
The Bulldogs are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their athletic department with a commemorative logo, though it’s unclear if it will appear on the football team’s uniforms.
Hawai’i
The Rainbow Warriors signed a four-year deal with adidas this offseason that resulted in new uniforms for the football program. Hawai’i will also wear the No. 15 on the left side of its helmets this season in honor of late quarterback Colt Brennan, who passed away in May at age 37.
Nevada
The Wolf Pack revealed two new helmet options for the upcoming season, including a white base and a silver flake base that was modeled after Notre Dame’s iconic gold lids.
San Diego State
The Aztecs have made a slight change to their helmets for the upcoming season, which now feature a matte finish and darker bolder lines to make the calendar more visible.
Wyoming
The Cowboys are celebrating their 125th season with a commemorative logo, though it’s unclear if it will be worn on the field.
Sun Belt
Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers unveiled new home black and road white uniforms this offseason, but much like the last set, there isn’t any consistency between them. The home set is simple, with their primary logo on the sleeves, while the white jersey has a curved stripe that goes around the cuffs.
For an in-depth look at the changes at the FCS, Division II and Division III levels, head over to our friends at the Auburn Uniform Database.
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