Illinois Football Uniforms
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IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
I don't know if the DIA would agree with you on that. It seems like starting last season (when they released their version of the Illini script hoodies), they've started leaning in. Most of their online branding has script Illinois on it. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if we started to see it more often.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Agreed and I am a big fan of the Script, but … the bubbly cursive alternative script “Illini” is literally so awful, haha. What would possess the DIA to think we really needed a second type of script font is literally so beyond me.
Agree. It's one thing to sell some merch with a trendy font/logo its another to constantly change your iconography so you are left with drivel of a brand.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
1. Slant Illinois
2. Arched Illini
3. Script Illinois
4. Block I
2. Arched Illini
3. Script Illinois
4. Block I
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I thought about this while viewing some of the recruit visit photos that just popped up on the home page ... but I just want to give a shoutout to the O/B/B uniform combo as especially sharp. I feel like it doesn't get enough love, either because it very much interferes with our goal of "establishing a consistent look" (O/B/O at home is as classic as it gets), people just don't like it aesthetically or because we have had some shaky efforts in this combo lately (too-close win vs. FAU in 2023, blowout loss to Nebraska in 2023 and heart-stopping lucky win vs. Purdue last year).
However, here is a tribute to this look, which I think looks really great and seems especially "natural" to wear under the lights for a primetime night game.
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However, here is a tribute to this look, which I think looks really great and seems especially "natural" to wear under the lights for a primetime night game.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
RE: that last point, I don't have any hard evidence to back this up ... but I think that last season was just the third season in my lifetime (the others being 2021-22 and 2004-05) that we didn't wear the navy uniforms even one time. As examples, I know for a fact that we at least wore them in 2024 (PSU collapse), 2023 (Wisconsin road win), 2021 (Rutgers road loss), 2020 (Wisconsin road win) and 2019 (Google image search of "Ayo freshman year" yields a picture of him in our previous navy uniforms, lol). It does seem to be a huge mistake to ditch navy altogether, and I am more than sick of it at this point. Let's consider that our Default Orange 1LL1NO1S uniforms are somehow still not viewed as cursed, yet they have presided over the 30-0 UConn run, the dud Nebraska loss last year, the 21-point shellacking in Madison last season, the humiliation vs. Maryland in the BTT, etc.My obligatory post in complete agreement with O/B/B. So sharp and clean. Imagine B/B/B.
Free the blue kits on the men's hoops side too.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I had a bit of a uniform crisis looking back at this era ... they honestly are pretty cool uniforms (minus the neck collar, which I will never, ever support on any football uniform), and some of the "unorthodox" combos actually looked the best, like the W/B/B you posted here.Just like the O/O/O....the latest version of O/B/B is the best we've had.
Maybe with the white helmet too? W/B/B?
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However, if I have to pick a lane, so to speak ... I like the idea of at least KIND OF "establishing a look." So, I am cool with only ever having an orange helmet. I'd have our general cadence go like this (not counting switching up the helmets like Script, Slant ILLINOIS, Arched ILLINI, etc.).
Home: O/B/O for most games, including always for Homecoming and Senior Day, if possible. O/O/W or O/O/O once per year for an "Orange Out." O/B/B for big night games.
Away: O/W/O for most games. O/W/B for big games.
Other: Always O/B/O or O/W/B for postseason games. Always O/O/O or O/O/W for the Mizzou game, home or away ... I am absolutely adamant that we should adopt a USC/UCLA setup in football and basketball with Mizzou, where we both always wear our home colors. Nobody can give me a good response why adopting this creative idea that would help add a special feel to our rivalry is a bad idea other than lazy complacency to not shake things up, since our two schools' colors lend themselves REALLY well to this kind of setup.
Other Comments
- Never, ever, EVER wear O/W/W on the road. If you want an all-white look, pull the frickin' trigger. I think the worst look in all of football is an all-white uniform but a non-white helmet ... it just looks so bad and half-baked for some reason, haha. Even iconic programs like Alabama absolutely cannot pull this look off.
- While I personally would prefer white pants with the orange jerseys (I feel like our B/O/B stripe pattern on the white pants looks SO clean with this set), I am kind of torn for our "Orange Out" look ... I totally get where people are coming from digging this current O/O/O combo.
- While I would love to see what the O/B/W combo would look like at home, I am sympathetic to that being too many different looks ... maybe for a 2027 home game honoring the 2007 Rose Bowl team, since that was their look.
Shief
- Champaign Area
I am 100% with you on OBO being the primary home combo and away being OWO or OWB.
With the upcoming Mizzou series, I am onboard with the USC-UCLA-like uniform tradition starting. Mizzou would probably be black/black/black, black/yellow/black, or black/black/yellow, they can decide, so I would like to see us stand out in contrast wearing OOW or OOB. There is something about OOO that just doesn't appeal to me.
I heard a rumor somewhere that the B1G and SEC having annual nonconference football games against each other. If true, I would love to see IL-MO and IN-KY be fixed pairs and then others can rotate.
Couldn’t sleep when I set my alarm too early..so did this one in bed. Two premises:
1. I actually like the current number font on our jerseys for now but don’t think they’ll age well. So, adding block font w/o outlines (b/c name one iconic college football uniform that has number outlines) and I think it looks pretty timeless.
2. Seems like there’s a general consensus that the Script logo is good, but everybody does script. So, in the name of trying to give us a signature look, I threw it over the Block I similar to the Idaho logo. Y’all can say it’s a copy of the Idaho logo, but Georgia’s copies Green Bay, Michigan’s winged helmet is all over the place and didn’t originate there, it’s fine guys.
1. I actually like the current number font on our jerseys for now but don’t think they’ll age well. So, adding block font w/o outlines (b/c name one iconic college football uniform that has number outlines) and I think it looks pretty timeless.
2. Seems like there’s a general consensus that the Script logo is good, but everybody does script. So, in the name of trying to give us a signature look, I threw it over the Block I similar to the Idaho logo. Y’all can say it’s a copy of the Idaho logo, but Georgia’s copies Green Bay, Michigan’s winged helmet is all over the place and didn’t originate there, it’s fine guys.
Shief
- Champaign Area
I love this helmet logo idea. It bridges the gap between the writen Illinois and the Block I only. If done well, this should look very clean.
Random thought, but it might be cool to incorporate the gateway arch onto helmets for Mizzou games a la the ivy at wrigley as a one off. Either over the I or behind the script or slant illinois
like the idea and initiative, and interesting comparison to the idaho logo, but it seems like a little much going on. i'm honestly not bothered by other schools having a script logo. i'm biased, but i just think the word "Illinois" looks good in script.
your idea is still better than slant illinois.
I honestly think this look could be up there for the most iconic look in college football given enough time. While I get that it was meant as a 1 off special for the 100th anniversary Michigan game, I think those helmets and unis are too good to pass up.
For example, if we were to somehow be 6-0 going into the OSU game (won't be easy), seeing us run out on the field with those in primetime would be straight fire.
"The Illini wearing their amazing throwbacks. That look just screams football. Yeah Jim, they took it to what was the reigning national champion Michigan wearing those jerseys last year, and are looking to make a statement against the current reigning national champ tonight. You cannot get more hyped up than this."
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
First of all, great mockup! I wish I had your skills, haha. Regarding your point about the outlines, I think you are definitely right overall regarding the big-time programs. With that said, I personally feel that given our color combinations, an outline looks better ... but I DEFINITELY think this issue is one that boils down to nothing more than personal taste.
Just for fun, though, here are the 15 winningest Power Five (Four?) programs (using this list) all-time.
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Out of those 15, only #4 Notre Dame, #11 Georgia, #12 Florida State, #14 Miami (FL) and #15 Florida use outlines. So the majority do not, and 9 of the top 10 do not. However, what I think is striking is another thing you touched on - 14 of the 15 use traditional block lettering of some type, with only FSU doing anything too funky ... and they can at least claim that this is some type of arrowhead-inspired, Seminole-like font, whereas ours is just like we are trying to do the trendy new thing, IMO.
If you ever use the EA Team Builder site to create a school for the CFB video game, they actually offer our exact font as an option if you choose Nike ... and it is called "Vapor." Lol, I feel like that says it all. I think switching up our numbers to block letters would go along way to making our already-good uniforms even better but JMO.
I frickin' love this idea, and it makes me sad how rarely decision makers feel any impulse for this kind of creative tweak that takes almost no effort! Sending subtle statements like this resonate with potential fans who are forming their impressions of programs, even sometimes at a subconscious level. Why didn't Iowa, Purdue or Ohio State change anything about their uniforms for their Wrigley games? Because they aren't Illinois-based teams, and they didn't need to do that. For us, though?? Adding that ivy design sent a statement that, despite what was painted on the field, we did not consider this a road game nor will we ever consider any contest vs. Northwestern within the Chicago MSA (including in Evanston!!) a TRUE road game ... because this is our turf.
It would be an awesome statement to do the same vs. Mizzou. If it helps people jump onboard and they'd resonate with this idea if a simpler pitch was given ... if nothing else, it's an awesome troll of them to subtly suggest we have some level of "home team appeal" in an essential market that is mostly in their state, lol. It would be like us starting a home and home with Notre Dame, playing them in Champaign and then the Irish show up with nods to Chicago on their uniforms. We would rightly take that as a mildly disrespectful dig at how well we are supported within our own borders.
Appreciate the conviction but I think most of the fanbase strongly disagrees. Would be very curious to see preferences by age group.
First of all, great mockup! I wish I had your skills, haha. Regarding your point about the outlines, I think you are definitely right overall regarding the big-time programs. With that said, I personally feel that given our color combinations, an outline looks better ... but I DEFINITELY think this issue is one that boils down to nothing more than personal taste.
Just for fun, though, here are the 15 winningest Power Five (Four?) programs (using this list) all-time.
Out of those 15, only #4 Notre Dame, #11 Georgia, #12 Florida State, #14 Miami (FL) and #15 Florida use outlines. So the majority do not, and 9 of the top 10 do not. However, what I think is striking is another thing you touched on - 14 of the 15 use traditional block lettering of some type, with only FSU doing anything too funky ... and they can at least claim that this is some type of arrowhead-inspired, Seminole-like font, whereas ours is just like we are trying to do the trendy new thing, IMO.
If you ever use the EA Team Builder site to create a school for the CFB video game, they actually offer our exact font as an option if you choose Nike ... and it is called "Vapor." Lol, I feel like that says it all. I think switching up our numbers to block letters would go along way to making our already-good uniforms even better but JMO.
I frickin' love this idea, and it makes me sad how rarely decision makers feel any impulse for this kind of creative tweak that takes almost no effort! Sending subtle statements like this resonate with potential fans who are forming their impressions of programs, even sometimes at a subconscious level. Why didn't Iowa, Purdue or Ohio State change anything about their uniforms for their Wrigley games? Because they aren't Illinois-based teams, and they didn't need to do that. For us, though?? Adding that ivy design sent a statement that, despite what was painted on the field, we did not consider this a road game nor will we ever consider any contest vs. Northwestern within the Chicago MSA (including in Evanston!!) a TRUE road game ... because this is our turf.
It would be an awesome statement to do the same vs. Mizzou. If it helps people jump onboard and they'd resonate with this idea if a simpler pitch was given ... if nothing else, it's an awesome troll of them to subtly suggest we have some level of "home team appeal" in an essential market that is mostly in their state, lol. It would be like us starting a home and home with Notre Dame, playing them in Champaign and then the Irish show up with nods to Chicago on their uniforms. We would rightly take that as a mildly disrespectful dig at how well we are supported within our own borders.
Thank you on the praise! I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better than I had been but in limited since I do pretty much all of this from a paint app on my iPhone lol - if you zoom in close enough you can see the flaws pretty easy.
That said, the shortcut is finding suitable replacement elements elsewhere and then pulling out distractions with a transparent fill to directly place where you want. So, on this one, I found a helmet with the script facing the right way from Jeremy Werner’s twitter acct and then erased out the rest of the helmet. Used slightly transparent white to accommodate for the reflections of the lights but didn’t do too great at that. The shading keeps it from looking blocky and pasted on. Then, for the shoulder number, believe it or not I grabbed a picture of a QB for Penn State throwing the ball with his chest Jersey number similarly oriented, erased out around the number, used a clone stamp to erase the “Vapor” number and replaced with the Penn State one for size. Lastly, grabbed a sample of the white shade from the other fabrics in the picture I started with to record the 14 since it had a very slight orange tint from the reflections in the room.
There's lots of things to hate about our number font, but the absolute worst is that the 6s and 9s don't match. I hate the the 9 has no bottom but the 6 has a top.
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