New Iowa uniforms

[thrillpac]

Oh look, this thread again.

Flashy new jerseys are wonderful for the "look at me, I need to be constantly reassured!" recruits (aka the "hurray! we all win trophies!" gen). If you want to put on different sparkly costumes every Saturday, I suggest you consider the community theater.

There are a only a select few coaches in the country that bother attempting to handhold that crap show. Those schools may have a couple of years of success here and there, but realistically, they reek of desperation. It's not unlike a pizza place or cell phone store that has a guy in an inflatable costume on the curb spinning a sign trying to draw in business.

Everyone points to Oregon. They are clearly the exception to the rule, although even they are on the decline now. At that time, they also had Chip Kelly and Mike Bellotti. Credit to Bellotti for building them up with Knight's pocket book, but even he had some questionable disciplinary standards and, "team issues". The fact is, if Phil Knight didn't attend the school, they wouldn't be his little tax write off, marketing tool.

The perennial powerhouse schools and other traditional schools don't need flashy gimmicks to compete. Their focus is on actual football. How often does Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Florida State, Ohio State, Stanford, Auburn, Florida, random SEC power, random BIG power, etc. tinker with wacky uniforms? Sure there are the alternate jerseys, but how often do those schools decide to drastically change things up? Never. Why? They have built a brand. They don't need to resort to gimmicks. Iowa falls into that category even though they don't win 10 games every year. Iowa has a solid football program. Since 1980, they have enjoyed nearly always a winning record, several exceptional years, and a limited amount of duds. Certainly more exceptional than dud. Through that time, we have had a relatively stable uniform.

The fact is, we bring in kids who love football and who love to work. Frankly, that is a key reason we have such a high NFL advancement rate. That comes from a coaching mindset and a brand.

Just because Iowa loses a couple of bad games here and there does not mean we need to resort to sign spinning. The kids attracted to that are NOT the kids I want to see in black and gold. I want a kid that is more concerned about popping a guy in the mouth. The occasional alt uni is fun and may be a selling point for some kids. However, I will take a team that focuses on football over shiny/matte color schemes any day of the year.

Congrats to you BigDan for trolling this long time lurker into a novella of a comment.

 

[BigDan21]

Give it up Big Dan - the unis you pictured are ugly...Iowa's current unis are one of the coolest/classic in college football. End of story, now go away.

Wrong. These unis are ugly. They look straight out of the 70's and 80's

We don't need to copy Oregon exactly, although we could adopt some of there things. Iowa is surrounded by cornfields, in poor recruiting territory with a small population. Iowa should be doing everything and anything it can to draw outside top tier recruits to the school, and despite what you guys say, kickass swagged out modern uniforms is one of many ways to do that. None of this crap like the above poster about "we're just gonna play classical good 'ol football and recruits will come, and if they care about trendy uniforms we don't want um." Not how how it works. Jim Harbaugh just got his players Jordan unis and they love it. Below is another option

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I think it's you that don't get it. Recruits get excited about trend setting schools, schools that stand out. I'm not sure if you ever played a college sport, but it's true. Oregon ruotinely ranks near the top of college football in unis, and recruits take notice.

ESPN article on uniforms and influence in recruiting, with regards to Oregon and others: "Eventually, the school in the middle of nowhere became the trendiest program in college football."

""Swagged out" uniforms not only help prospects take notice of a program, they can be a difference-maker if the recruit is struggling to choose between two relatively even programs."

Iowa's current unis are ok, but in no way do they stand out from the pack in the college football landscape. But hey, complacent mediocrity is a "trend" Iowa can really own I guess.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...all-recruiting-uniforms-selling-point-schools

That's the fault of the people that rank Oregon's uniforms that high.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Wrong. These unis are ugly. They look straight out of the 70's and 80's

We don't need to copy Oregon exactly, although we could adopt some of there things. Iowa is surrounded by cornfields, in poor recruiting territory with a small population. Iowa should be doing everything and anything it can to draw outside top tier recruits to the school, and despite what you guys say, kickass swagged out modern uniforms is one of many ways to do that. None of this crap like the above poster about "we're just gonna play classical good 'ol football and recruits will come, and if they care about trendy uniforms we don't want um." Not how how it works. Jim Harbaugh just got his players Jordan unis and they love it. Below is another option

Stop trying.

 

[scotthawk1964]

Iowa's uniforms are just fine, instantly recognizable to any football fan. Teams with Rich tradition don't screw with their uniforms , their trademark . I mean when's the last time you saw Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, or Texas wearing god-awful Oregon style uniforms. If the unies ain't broke don't fix em. I do like one alternate uniform, a variation of the all black they wore last year. The Hawkeyes are supposed to be the bullies of the Big Ten, and bullies don't wear Wild God awful pansy jerseys like Oregon. I even like Nebraska traditional uniforms, but when they dabble with these ugly weird looking alternate uniforms it diminishes their program it makes them look second-rate, at least in my opinion. They should choose one alternate and end it.

 

[illhawkdvv]

I Guess you are young because we already had these uniforms years ago and it took years to live them down.

 

[IFlyEm]

How about we start with getting some uniforms that fit correctly. Our pants look like sweatpants. Not to mention it looks like everyone needs a diaper change.

 

[eyeohuh]

Haha ya'll are probably a bunch of 40-60 year old dudes. You guys like the classic conservative look, I get it. Just like Kirk likes his old school classical football. But I guarantee younger recruits would be hyped by these unis. It's partly a generational thing I suppose.

I'm 20 and those Oregon jerseys definitely don't get me hype. Not my taste. I'm down for an alternate or something updated more often though

 

[BigDan21]

I'm 20 and those Oregon jerseys definitely don't get me hype. Not my taste. I'm down for an alternate or something updated more often though

Yeah, I mostly used the Oregon uniforms to make a point that our unis should be modernized. Agreed that we don't need to copy them completely, but it's just the philosophy. If you're trying to improve a program you want to be a "trendy and cool" up and coming program that grabs attention. And that goes beyond just uniforms. Oregon is very good at that. USC did it back in the Pete Carroll days. Harbaugh is doing it now at Michigan. It's a philosophy and approach to how you conduct business, think outside the box, push the envelope. Like I said, I think this would be anothere good option

 

[thrillpac]

Shallow people worry about shallow things. So by your rationale, why isn't Iowa State, Minnesota, directional Michigan, etc, etc, etc tearing up the college football ranks? Sounds like by your logic flash over substance is what matters most.

I get it. Some of the mocked up unis are cool. I would love to see a flashy alt uni every year. But not every game. It cheapens the luster. But if you don't get why the traditional uni is cool, then I really can't help you. Sparkly, shiny things are designed to hide inferiority elsewhere. Flashy shiny diversions are great for simple minded people. People with strong will, determination, and hard work ethics favor establishment. Even the lowest peon on the most basic marketing totem pole understands that. Also, tradition brings in $$$ from wealthy people that like tradition. $$$ builds important things like facilities, exposure, education, resources, etc.

There are plenty of 1-4, 2-4, 3-3 schools with matte helmets and glittery numbers that would love to have you come cheer for them.

 

[BigDan21]

Shallow people worry about shallow things. So by your rationale, why isn't Iowa State, Minnesota, directional Michigan, etc, etc, etc tearing up the college football ranks? Sounds like by your logic flash over substance is what matters most.

I get it. Some of the mocked up unis are cool. I would love to see a flashy alt uni every year. But not every game. It cheapens the luster. But if you don't get why the traditional uni is cool, then I really can't help you. Sparkly, shiny things are designed to hide inferiority elsewhere. Flashy shiny diversions are great for simple minded people. People with strong will, determination, and hard work ethics favor establishment. Even the lowest peon on the most basic marketing totem pole understands that. Also, tradition brings in $$$ from wealthy people that like tradition. $$$ builds important things like facilities, exposure, education, resources, etc.

There are plenty of 1-4, 2-4, 3-3 schools with matte helmets and glittery numbers that would love to have you come cheer for them.

Well I'm a Clemson guy now, so I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. And former hawkeye. But I think your coaching staff could take notes from Dabo and Harbaugh's philosophy.

And your logic of "we just want to be a fundamental football team so therefore we can't be flashy" is flawed. It's not an either/or. It can, and should, coexist if you want to break out of mediocre recruiting classes and consistent 7-5 seasons

 

[spbc7]

There are some minor changes I'd like to see to give it a cleaner look, but a complete makeover would be a big mistake

 

[thrillpac]

I'm not saying fundamentals are absolutely everything and we can't be flashy. I just think you are putting waaaayyy too much stock in it. Schools are not attracting All American or All Conference players from other schools simply based on uniforms. I would love to hear of an example of a STAR player that chose equal school A over equal school B simply because they have matte helmets. It may make a difference to a less talented player that wants to feel like they are a part of something that looks cool, but someone who is hard working and who wants to become better as a player is not going to worry about that stuff.

If constantly redesigned uniforms were the answer, every successful team in college football would have them. The fact is, most perennial powerhouses don't have them. Some will change a stripe here or throw a Michael Jordan logo on an otherwise unchanged established brand there, but major overhauls are the exception, not the norm for teams focused on winning football. Throwing you established players an alt uni once a year is a sweet bonus, that I get. But in the end, they just want to win. Proven brand wins.

And lets be really, truly honest here - even if Iowa did decide to go Hollywood with their unis, the second they didn't win 9-10 games, the same folks that blame the existing staff for losing and not "appealing to recruits" would be all over them for spending too much time worried about fancy uniform motifs.

 

[Hawkeyeinoregon]

☠️

 

[BigDan21]

☠️

"Hawkeyeinoregon" how appropriate. You're a little late

 

[Sett1997]

Haha ya'll are probably a bunch of 40-60 year old dudes. You guys like the classic conservative look, I get it. Just like Kirk likes his old school classical football. But I guarantee younger recruits would be hyped by these unis. It's partly a generational thing I suppose.

I think they are cool, I'm 53. If nothing else a few times a year would be nice. You are right, young kids would love them.

 

[Rustys Dad]

I like when schools roll out the alternate uniforms. That being said, I do like the classic, steady look of schools like Iowa, Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State ... I think a couple of adjustments here or there would be cool. I really like the idea of doing a brushed gold/brushed black helmet with a different shade to the uniforms ... I think our home jerseys (with our black helmets) are still some of the sharpest around.

 

[HawksDominate]

Wrong. These unis are ugly. They look straight out of the 70's and 80's

We don't need to copy Oregon exactly, although we could adopt some of there things. Iowa is surrounded by cornfields, in poor recruiting territory with a small population. Iowa should be doing everything and anything it can to draw outside top tier recruits to the school, and despite what you guys say, kickass swagged out modern uniforms is one of many ways to do that. None of this crap like the above poster about "we're just gonna play classical good 'ol football and recruits will come, and if they care about trendy uniforms we don't want um." Not how how it works. Jim Harbaugh just got his players Jordan unis and they love it. Below is another option

I actually like those. I would like us to break away from the Steeler design as well, just not the first pic you posted, those were awful. We had some posted here a few years ago that I absolutely loved. One was all Black and the other had a Yellow jersey, they were simple and sweet!

 

[IAROY]

 

[hexumhawk]

Our uniforms and Logo are one of the best in CFB. I would be all for a 1 time a year uniform tinker but think we should stick with the classic look.

 

[pacnorthhawkeye]

Yeah. Should have titled it "Boring Iowa fans want change but can't put their money where their mouth is"

 

[pacnorthhawkeye]

Bigdan has been on here for less than a month.

 

[ferentzin04]

 

[pacnorthhawkeye]

View embedded media

Something about that red head form myth busters....such a naughty geek.

 

[David1979]

I wouldn't be shocked if they had something planned for the Michigan game.

 

[pacnorthhawkeye]

Something about that red head form myth busters....such a naughty geek.

 

[ferentzin04]

 

[Lumas Etima]

Point #1:
While uniforms aren't specifically important to a university, or a football program, branding is. And uniforms are one of many things that contribute to a university's brand. Brand is important, because all other marketing is built around it, from the players being recruited to play football, to the students being recruited to study biology, to the donors urged to contribute dollars.

Oregon is a success story. Some time ago, the university made an obvious decision to brand itself as an innovator. As a cutting-edge school. As a place that was daring. You see that brand not only in the school's football uniforms, but in its basketball court, its style of play, and its school website.

Schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State are also branding success stories. They've all stayed conservative. Their brand is also clear. Strong. Stable. Secure. Tradition. These elements are across each university's marketing spectrum to lure athletes, students, faculty, and donors.

What is Iowa's brand? What should it be? That's really the debate here. With the amount of publicity college football gets, schools are crazy not to consider the way its football team (and its uniforms) can impact the overall university brand.

Point #2:
It's not as important as it used to be to have recognizable uniforms.

Back in the old days, very few teams were on TV. Highlight shows were in short supply. Any given weekend, schools were lucky to have more than a few seconds of airtime. Besides that, there was no such thing as HDTV, and multiple camera angles were minimal. Out of that world were borne uniforms like Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Alabama. Simple uniforms. Unchanged. Easily recognizable.

Today's college football fans have far more ways to watch football. From the proliferation of cable sports channels to the unlimited content on the Internet, every team in America has infinitely more exposure today than they did 30 or 40 years ago. That means it's not as important to be as instantly recognizable as it used to be. As long as teams maintain key branding elements -- a certain logo, the same color scheme -- fans can pretty quickly figure out who they are. The great close-ups and constant on-screen scoreboard of today's TV coverage help as well.

Point #3
Our current uniforms are complete rip-offs of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let's not pretend like they are unique to Iowa.

Conclusion:
While I think copying Oregon would clearly be a mistake (that's their brand, not ours), I would like to see a little more variety to Iowa's uniforms.

The Tiger Hawk logo is one of the best in sports; keep it. The colors are unique to Iowa. Keep 'em. And as a B1G school, we shouldn't stray to much from tradition -- that should always be part of our brand.

But when we refuse to change anything, it affects the brand of our program, and the brand of our school. We start to look out of date. Boring. And that impacts all elements of the university's marketing efforts. If we win a couple national championships, we an afford to stay the same forever. But until then, we shouldn't be afraid to innovate a bit, within reason.

My changes would be simple: I'd like to see black pants and white pants added to our wardrobe. That would allow us to go black-over-black, white-over-white, black-over-gold (current home unis), white-over-gold (current road unis), black-over-white, and white-over-black. We would maintain our current "look," while still adding a bit of variety. If we wanted to go a bit further, we could throw in a gold jersey, or some white or gold helmets (with the Tiger Hawk).

Adjustments like this would maintain our traditions, while still demonstrating we understand modern culture. Most importantly, it would strengthen the university brand.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

I'll just leave these here...

 

[ichawk24]

Iowa State and Indiana change their unis all the time, look at the 5 star recruits pounding down their doors.

 

[Tim Dodge Rules]

I agree with the OP.
Especially since our current uni's were a direct rip-off of the Steelers,
so they're not even original to begin with.

Black and Gold are great colors, and the possibilities are endless with what you could do with them without going too crazy.
I think Iowa is overdue for something like this, something that is both new and fresh, but doesn't compromise too much classic feel and tradition.

 

[BigDan21]

Yes, Lumis Etima and Tim Dodge get my point precisely. I'm not opposed to tradition, especially at schools like Ohio State, Alabama, etc that have a strong traditions to build on. But I would like to see a school like Iowa, that is trying to take its program to the next level and doesn't have the same history/name recognition as the Ohio States, Alabamas, etc, take a more "innovative" approach to their brand. And this doesn't only apply to unis, it applies to facilities, gameday experience, scheduling more night games, game plan schemes, play calling, etc.

 

[ANYCHawk]

How about we start with getting some uniforms that fit correctly. Our pants look like sweatpants. Not to mention it looks like everyone needs a diaper change.

View embedded media

So you notice how the pants and the rear end fits a lot? @naturalhawk you want to handle this or me?

 

[BigHawksFan]

Yeah, I mostly used the Oregon uniforms to make a point that our unis should be modernized. Agreed that we don't need to copy them completely, but it's just the philosophy. If you're trying to improve a program you want to be a "trendy and cool" up and coming program that grabs attention. And that goes beyond just uniforms. Oregon is very good at that. USC did it back in the Pete Carroll days. Harbaugh is doing it now at Michigan. It's a philosophy and approach to how you conduct business, think outside the box, push the envelope. Like I said, I think this would be anothere good option

We're not the Iowa Batmen, we're the Iowa Hawkeyes. These uniforms are ugly. It's ok if you don't like the current uniforms, but they're our uniforms. Take it or leave it.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Well I'm a Clemson guy now, so I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. And former hawkeye. But I think your coaching staff could take notes from Dabo and Harbaugh's philosophy.

And your logic of "we just want to be a fundamental football team so therefore we can't be flashy" is flawed. It's not an either/or. It can, and should, coexist if you want to break out of mediocre recruiting classes and consistent 7-5 seasons

If you're a Clemson fan then why in the actual f*** are you calling for Iowa to change their uniforms?

Iowa's uniforms are better than Clemson's..........that was just a mistake on your part.

 

[anon_snp6dc585nnj4]

Metrosexual thread is metrosexual

 

[scotthawk1964]

Well I'm a Clemson guy now, so I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. And former hawkeye. But I think your coaching staff could take notes from Dabo and Harbaugh's philosophy.

And your logic of "we just want to be a fundamental football team so therefore we can't be flashy" is flawed. It's not an either/or. It can, and should, coexist if you want to break out of mediocre recruiting classes and consistent 7-5 seasons

I think if you take a look, you will find that up until 2011 Clemson was pretty mediocre on the football field, not any different then Iowa. I expect Clemson to take a step back in a year or so. After all, they are not Alabama or Ohio State. LOL

 

[BigDan21]

If you're a Clemson fan then why in the actual f*** are you calling for Iowa to change their uniforms?

Iowa's uniforms are better than Clemson's..........that was just a mistake on your part.

Clemson has a great coach in great recruiting territory, they won't be in decline anytime soon. Iowa has a coach somewhere in the ok to decent range, in poor recruiting territory, not to bash KF he's a nice guy. But Iowa has to go above and beyond to set itself apart, improve the brand of the program. One easy and fast way to do that is slick new unis. All black home, all gold and all white away, gid rid of Stealers design like others have said, throw on some chrome gold helmets every now and then. Show a little inginuity and willingness to change, draw as much attention and publicity to the program as possible. I think you get my point.

 

[PHXIowaClub]

One thing is for sure, get rid of the stupid NFL Black/White socks. Iowa looked so good in 2002 when a bunch of the guys started going with the tall white socks as the weather got cooler. I would go Black shoes, black socks with the home unis and white shoes and tall white socks on the road.

 

[ebnd2ic]

I like our current uniforms... but just once, I want those ugly ass banana peel disasters from the 90's to make a one game comeback.

I'd be moist with glee.