As part of a partnership Realtree, an outdoor products and lifestyle brand, the Ole Miss football program will wear helmets and sideline gear with a camouflage pattern during Saturday’s game against Kentucky (12 p.m. ET on ESPN).
Realtree founder and CEO Bill Jordan notably played wide receiver for the Rebels from 1969-71, while the indoor practice field at the Olivia and Archie Manning Athletic Performance Center bears his family name after he donated $2 million to the university back in 2015.
“Ole Miss and the football team hold a special place in my heart as an alum and former player,” Jordan said. “As we reviewed some of our key Realtree programs and licensed products for this fall, the idea sort of just hit us – what if we offered Ole Miss a Realtree pattern that the team could consider matching their football uniforms for use on the helmet?”
The white helmets incorporate Realtree’s WAV3 pattern in powder blue throughout, as well as a Realtree wordmark on the chinstraps and antler/hook logo on the cup. The company’s logo, wordmark and name of the pattern can also be seen on the side of the helmet.
To our knowledge, this is the first time that a corporate logo has ever appeared on college football uniform outside of the manufacturer’s mark on the chest, sleeves or helmet bumpers or on special occasions, such as sponsored regular season or bowl games.
“Our players and coaches are excited to partner with Realtree and wear this unique helmet and gear,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this great collaboration.”
Aside from the pattern, the helmet is the same design as what the Rebels wore in the Sugar Bowl loss to Baylor on Jan. 1, with a script “Ole Miss” on both sides, red and powder blue stripe down the center and white facemask.
It’s unclear at this time what uniforms the Rebels will wear with the Realtree helmets, though it’s likely they’ll be paired with their powder blue jerseys and white pants.
Photos courtesy of @OleMissFB on Twitter.
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