Illinois Football Uniforms
- Status
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Idk on Bielema seeing the slant as the brand. I regularly see him in arched Illini clothing.
Let’s also not forget that he started working on new uniforms the day he got the job. He called Nike that day to get started. He had two years to put together the uniform and he kept blue block with white outlining from the moment he could change the decal when he started through the 2023 redesign.
I think he made the intentional choice to go with the different logos as part of a historic highlighting last year and he realized through that how much all of the fans prefer those logos to the block I I think he also understands we’re pretty divided on it and I think he’s trying to give people what they want. I don’t think he lets it keep him up at night but I do genuinely think that BB cares about what the fans care about and tons of us are very engaged and vocal on that kinda stuff. He’s a true CEO of a program.
Let’s also not forget that he started working on new uniforms the day he got the job. He called Nike that day to get started. He had two years to put together the uniform and he kept blue block with white outlining from the moment he could change the decal when he started through the 2023 redesign.
I think he made the intentional choice to go with the different logos as part of a historic highlighting last year and he realized through that how much all of the fans prefer those logos to the block I I think he also understands we’re pretty divided on it and I think he’s trying to give people what they want. I don’t think he lets it keep him up at night but I do genuinely think that BB cares about what the fans care about and tons of us are very engaged and vocal on that kinda stuff. He’s a true CEO of a program.
Well Bret is a uniform nut (unlike Brad) and I think the helmets he associates with Illinois football are the slant helmets. We wore the slants the most in 2024 and our current uniforms seem to be closest aligned with the late 80s early 90s uniforms. I’m sure he considers all the different fonts and helmets to be a part of the brand but the slant era seems to be the closest associated with Illinois football for him.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
How do we get Bret to convince Brad to at least care enough to ask Nike to simply give us the throwback uniforms that WE ALREADY HAVE? Lol.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Perhaps because that was our helmet logo when he played against us at Iowa. Plus he was a Giants coach, so there's that. (*ducks*)
I think it's definitely the first part. He talked about how cool the whole atmosphere was when he played against us in the early 90s.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I can't track down which games were "designated" preseason for a certain helmet, but the way to REALLY tell Bret's preference (at least IMO) is to look at what we did in the "open helmet" games. For example, we never wore the Butkus Era or Arched ILLINI helmets a single time other than each design's "pre-announced game." Conversely, as you pointed out, we wore the Slant ILLINOIS helmet not only vs. Kansas (its debut) but then again at Nebraska, at Penn State, vs. Minnesota and at Rutgers. It's safe to say Bret likes those ones.
I'm going to go ahead and guess that (if he is really as superstitious as some here say), both the O/B/B look and the Butkus Era helmets are going to be sidelined for a while. The O/B/B combo (while it looks great) has been worn for a too-close-for-comfort win vs. FAU in 2023, an embarrassing beatdown vs. Nebraska in 2023 and a heart-stopping lucky win vs. Purdue in 2024 - the latter also being the lone time we have worn the Butkus Era helmets. Let's all hope that Bret is as superstitious about the white pants on the road (i.e., O/W/W), as we thankfully haven't worn that combo since getting demolished at Oregon last year.
FWIW, this is my PREDICTION of what we will do this year for helmets/uniforms, followed by what I WISH we would do ... and yes, I am aware the latter has definitely probably changed since whenever I last posted this!
ACTUAL PREDICTION
O/B/O + Block I vs. Western Illinois
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Duke
O/B/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Western Michigan (first time of this helmet with the navy jersey)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Indiana (we beat Duke and "stick with what worked")
O/B/O + Script vs. USC (Script makes its return for Homecoming)
O/W/W + Slant ILLINOIS at Purdue (for some reason he loves this look, so I think it comes back)
O/O/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Ohio State (Orange Out game, plus we seem to prioritize this helmet with the orange uniform)
O/W/W + Slant ILLINOIS at Washington (a loss at Washington finally retires this look)
O/B/O + Block I vs. Rutgers
O/B/O + Script vs. Maryland
O/W/O + Script at Wisconsin (first time seeing Script with the white uniforms)
O/B/O + Script vs. Northwestern
O/B/O + Script OR O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS for postseason
FIGHTER'S WISHLIST
O/B/O + Script vs. Western Illinois (gotta wear the Citrus Bowl uniform for the home opener!)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Duke (good juju, as we wore this at Nebraska for our first road test last year)
O/B/O + Script vs. Western Michigan (Script should be default home helmet, IMO)
O/W/B + Arched ILLINI at Indiana (Bret ... IT'S TIME! #BPOTR)
O/B/O + Script vs. USC (default home uniform should be worn at Homecoming!)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Purdue (default road combo)
O/O/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Ohio State (Orange Out game, plus even I admit that this combo looked so slick vs. KU last year)
O/W/O + Arched ILLINI at Washington (give the Arched ILLINI more love, Bret!!)
O/B/B + Arched ILLINI vs. Rutgers (a classic '80s look for Dads Day!!)
O/O/W + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Maryland (Veterans Day look from last year but trying the white pants!)
O/W/B + Script at Wisconsin (return to #BPOTR but try it with the Script)
O/B/O + Script vs. Northwestern
O/B/O + Script OR O/W/B + Slant ILLINOIS for postseason
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Bring it back!
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Three arched ILLINI games on your wish list. Not quite enough for me but, Fighter, you're the man! I'll be in Bloomington on Sept. 20 and hope you're right.I can't track down which games were "designated" preseason for a certain helmet, but the way to REALLY tell Bret's preference (at least IMO) is to look at what we did in the "open helmet" games. For example, we never wore the Butkus Era or Arched ILLINI helmets a single time other than each design's "pre-announced game." Conversely, as you pointed out, we wore the Slant ILLINOIS helmet not only vs. Kansas (its debut) but then again at Nebraska, at Penn State, vs. Minnesota and at Rutgers. It's safe to say Bret likes those ones.
I'm going to go ahead and guess that (if he is really as superstitious as some here say), both the O/B/B look and the Butkus Era helmets are going to be sidelined for a while. The O/B/B combo (while it looks great) has been worn for a too-close-for-comfort win vs. FAU in 2023, an embarrassing beatdown vs. Nebraska in 2023 and a heart-stopping lucky win vs. Purdue in 2024 - the latter also being the lone time we have worn the Butkus Era helmets. Let's all hope that Bret is as superstitious about the white pants on the road (i.e., O/W/W), as we thankfully haven't worn that combo since getting demolished at Oregon last year.
FWIW, this is my PREDICTION of what we will do this year for helmets/uniforms, followed by what I WISH we would do ... and yes, I am aware the latter has definitely probably changed since whenever I last posted this!
ACTUAL PREDICTION
O/B/O + Block I vs. Western Illinois
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Duke
O/B/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Western Michigan (first time of this helmet with the navy jersey)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Indiana (we beat Duke and "stick with what worked")
O/B/O + Script vs. USC (Script makes its return for Homecoming)
O/W/W + Slant ILLINOIS at Purdue (for some reason he loves this look, so I think it comes back)
O/O/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Ohio State (Orange Out game, plus we seem to prioritize this helmet with the orange uniform)
O/W/W + Slant ILLINOIS at Washington (a loss at Washington finally retires this look)
O/B/O + Block I vs. Rutgers
O/B/O + Script vs. Maryland
O/W/O + Script at Wisconsin (first time seeing Script with the white uniforms)
O/B/O + Script vs. Northwestern
O/B/O + Script OR O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS for postseason
FIGHTER'S WISHLIST
O/B/O + Script vs. Western Illinois (gotta wear the Citrus Bowl uniform for the home opener!)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Duke (good juju, as we wore this at Nebraska for our first road test last year)
O/B/O + Script vs. Western Michigan (Script should be default home helmet, IMO)
O/W/B + Arched ILLINI at Indiana (Bret ... IT'S TIME! #BPOTR)
O/B/O + Script vs. USC (default home uniform should be worn at Homecoming!)
O/W/O + Slant ILLINOIS at Purdue (default road combo)
O/O/O + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Ohio State (Orange Out game, plus even I admit that this combo looked so slick vs. KU last year)
O/W/O + Arched ILLINI at Washington (give the Arched ILLINI more love, Bret!!)
O/B/B + Arched ILLINI vs. Rutgers (a classic '80s look for Dads Day!!)
O/O/W + Slant ILLINOIS vs. Maryland (Veterans Day look from last year but trying the white pants!)
O/W/B + Script at Wisconsin (return to #BPOTR but try it with the Script)
O/B/O + Script vs. Northwestern
O/B/O + Script OR O/W/B + Slant ILLINOIS for postseason
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, while we unfortunately lost both games, Bret came to Champaign twice as a player and saw two crowds of over 70k. Would love to ever have that many fans in MS again!
P.S. Both of those games are on YouTube!
I always enjoy all the insights and information I get from this forum. I had no idea that Bielema was that involved in the logos, uniforms etc. I assumed that was delegated to a low-level staff member or graduate assistant and then the coaching staff had final say and approval. I’d love to be a fly on the wall during those conversations.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I think your assumption is probably correct on the basketball side of things
... RE: Bielema, it is worth remembering that he IMMEDIATELY switched our helmet from the Lovie Era helmet as soon as he got here. Even though we did not get new uniforms until the 2023 season, we stopped wearing the helmets in the first set of pictures beginning in 2021 (i.e., Bret's first season as head coach).
Lovie Era: Regular use of orange, navy and white helmets. No (visible) outline for the Block I logo. No striping pattern on the top.
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Bielema Era: Only use of orange helmets, eliminating the white and navy from the rotation. White outline added to the Block I. W/B/W striping pattern added to the top of the helmet, reminiscent of the Butkus Era helmet stripe. We also never wore orange uniforms during 2021 or 2022, which is interesting because Bret seems to like them with the new set.
While I actually kind of hated those 2021-2022 helmets and STRONGLY prefer our new ones (I'm a big believer that the darkest color should be on the outside of a 3-stripe pattern!), they just sort of "classed up" that uniform. I could tell Bret cared about putting his stamp on the team's uniforms with that switch. FWIW, it seems that a new coach usually gets his new uniforms during year 2 or 3? I am not sure if that is a hard-and-fast timeline for Nike or anything, but...
Bielema Year 1
---> Bielema Year 3
Lovie Year 1
---> Lovie Year 3
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Beckman Year 1
---> Beckman Year 3 (fun fact ... is this the only year EVER where we never wore navy jerseys once?!)
Zook Year 1
---> Zook Year 2
Wasn’t sure whether to post this here or on the CFB 26 forum, but I noticed in this official post from the Illinois Football Team that in all the screenshots they were wearing the slant ILLINI helmet no matter what uniform color combination. Is this our new primary helmet?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I would not be surprised at all if it's the most worn next year, though I had kind of figured it would mostly be worn on the road (i.e., with the white uniforms) or whenever we wear the orange. As a reminder for everyone, these were the games BESIDES those where we had a designated an other "special" helmet last year and how we chose to utilize each helmet:
"Off the Table" Helmet Games: These are games where I feel our "hands were tied" and there was a specific helmet that was always going to be worn this week. In other words, the staff wasn't making a decision of which helmet we preferred. This includes all helmet announcements the DIA released before the season started, too.
Block I and O/B/O vs. Eastern Illinois
Slant ILLINOIS and O/O/O vs. Kansas
Arched ILLINI and O/B/O vs. Central Mighigan
Butkus Era and O/B/B vs. Purdue
Full Grange Era Uniform vs. Michigan
Wrigley/Ivy Block I and O/W/O vs. Northwestern at Wrigley
"Open" Helmet Games: These are games where I feel the staff/team had full control over what helmet we were going to wear, and thus it shows some sort of preference for these helmets.
Slant ILLINOIS and O/W/O at Nebraska
Slant ILLINOIS and O/W/O at Penn State
Block I and O/W/W at Oregon
Slant ILLINOIS and O/O/O vs. Minnesota
Block I and O/B/O vs. Michigan State
Slant ILLINOIS and O/W/O at Rutgers
Script and O/B/O vs. South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl
So of the 7 games where there was no announced/special/surprise helmet, we wore Slant ILLINOIS in 4 of them, including 3 of the 4 true road games with the white jerseys. I definitely got the distinct impression last year that they were Bret's favorites, although I have to admit I thought the Script would be playing a much more prominent role this year than I now think, haha.
I’ve always really liked the Block I logo and the different ways that it can be colored and used. I don’t want to say it’s necessarily iconic in college sports logos, but I think it is definitely very recognizable. It looks good as a television graphic and on hats and apparel, even if it’s just the small version on the breast of a polo shirt. No other logo or writing or graphics is necessary. But for some reason, to me, it just doesn’t really look that good on a helmet. I can’t really put my finger on it but it just looks plain and generic.I think your assumption is probably correct on the basketball side of things
RE: Bielema, it is worth remembering that he IMMEDIATELY switched our helmet from the Lovie Era helmet as soon as he got here. Even though we did not get new uniforms until the 2023 season, we stopped wearing the helmets in the first set of pictures beginning in 2021 (i.e., Bret's first season as head coach).
Lovie Era: Regular use of orange, navy and white helmets. No (visible) outline for the Block I logo. No striping pattern on the top.
Bielema Era: Only use of orange helmets, eliminating the white and navy from the rotation. White outline added to the Block I. W/B/W striping pattern added to the top of the helmet, reminiscent of the Butkus Era helmet stripe. We also never wore orange uniforms during 2021 or 2022, which is interesting because Bret seems to like them with the new set.
While I actually kind of hated those 2021-2022 helmets and STRONGLY prefer our new ones (I'm a big believer that the darkest color should be on the outside of a 3-stripe pattern!), they just sort of "classed up" that uniform. I could tell Bret cared about putting his stamp on the team's uniforms with that switch. FWIW, it seems that a new coach usually gets his new uniforms during year 2 or 3? I am not sure if that is a hard-and-fast timeline for Nike or anything, but...
Bielema Year 1
---> Bielema Year 3
Lovie Year 1
---> Lovie Year 3
Beckman Year 1
---> Beckman Year 3 (fun fact ... is this the only year EVER where we never wore navy jerseys once?!)
Zook Year 1
---> Zook Year 2
Fighter, I love your content but my goodness are you retired? Your posts are always so in-depth, well-formatted, and properly sourced like … 2:30 in the afternoon lol how do you have the time?
I think it's because it's a mostly vertical logo on a horizontal canvas. The better looking helmet logos are all wider than ours. Some of the best are wider and shorter - less vertical and more horizontal. At least that's my main issue with it. It just doesn't fit the space in an ideal way to my eye.
I think you’re exactly right. I’ve never been crazy about the slant ILLINOIS logo, even on apparel but it looks decent on a helmet. Which fits exactly with your explanation. I guess the key is getting the best use of available space.
Same here. Always articulate, enjoyable and so well researched. Keep it up!
P.S. As a SEZ season ticket holder I wholeheartedly agree with your passionate stance on the needed improvements.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- Batavia
247 ought to pay you for all the content you create. Always interests me.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Fighter doesn’t provide content. He crafts massive, well constructed and meticulously researched manifestos that elevate it to a much higher level. Content is what you watch when you’re mindlessly scrolling the internet because it’s there. Fighter’s posts are what you seek out and absorb. The best analogy I’ve heard is that content is the high fructose corn syrup of the internet and social media. Fighter provides much more than that.
- Status