drsmitty74
- Rochester
I may be in the minority, but I did not like them in 05 and I still do not like them. Nor do I like any of the changes above. Call me old school, but the 89 unis and the current script are the way to go IMO.
Illini Basketball Uniforms
- Status
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Part two:
2015 to 2017
2018
2019 to Present
We seem REMARKABLY overdue for a change given how UNremarkable our current set is...
2015 to 2017
2018
2019 to Present
We seem REMARKABLY overdue for a change given how UNremarkable our current set is...
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I have to agree. I actually never even loved our 2005 uniforms at the time (I remember thinking it was SO cool when they busted out the 1989 throwbacks that year), and I would only love a throwback version of them now because of the nostalgia and connection with SO much winning ... we hung 7 banners in 6 seasons...
There is a reason teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Packers, Michigan, etc. never really change their uniforms that much. It is not because they're perfect aesthetically in and of themselves ... it's because they're classic ENOUGH that there isn't incentive to change them. Having a "timeless brand" is worth more than "looking good," especially when "looking good" means chasing trends that will look stupid in a decade (e.g., two-color font and this lame italic, minimalist Nike craze we are still rocking).
Hate to sound melodramatic, but your uniform can honestly be a statement of pride ... if the Illini just ARE the Flyin' Illini and/or Script look and we signal to the world we don't CARE what the new trends are, there is inherent coolness and swagger to that. Whoever is in charge of negotiating our contract with Nike is really puzzling me at this stage ... there appears to be a lot more money to be made and a lot more hype to be generated for BOTH sides if we milk the CLEARLY more popular throwbacks in all three colors. Just let the current set die already.
I wouldn't mind seeing us bring back that zig zag motif from 2007 - 2008. It's simple. Its subtle (unlike when they tried to add it to the sides of the jerseys). And it's unique to Illinois.^ Your second photo there actually got me thinking that as far as post-2005, non-throwback jerseys go ... that second set is not bad! So, I wanted to look back at our orange uniforms since 2000 (and I might have missed some!) ... did we seriously switch this much after 2006?!
Pre-2001
2001 to 2006
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2007 to 2008
2009 to 2010
2011
2012 to 2014
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Whether or not you like the '05 uni's, they are light years better font than "1LL1NO1S", and while not my fave's either...they are just fine in every other aspect.
That we have not done a throwback version for a one off, or two.....confuses me.
That team and that year deserves to be honored.
And if it's Nike's fault this hasn't happened, then that's just more reason to hate Nike.
Except for my running shoes. Those are great. So if you are a kid in the sweat shop in Vietnam reading this....I love you. Keep up the good work.
That we have not done a throwback version for a one off, or two.....confuses me.
That team and that year deserves to be honored.
And if it's Nike's fault this hasn't happened, then that's just more reason to hate Nike.
Except for my running shoes. Those are great. So if you are a kid in the sweat shop in Vietnam reading this....I love you. Keep up the good work.
I was always a big fan of the last set you posted, the blue and white sets as well. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia because I was in High School when they wore these. I always loved the design of the shorts.^ Your second photo there actually got me thinking that as far as post-2005, non-throwback jerseys go ... that second set is not bad! So, I wanted to look back at our orange uniforms since 2000 (and I might have missed some!) ... did we seriously switch this much after 2006?!
Pre-2001
2001 to 2006
2007 to 2008
2009 to 2010
2011
2012 to 2014
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I am not in the "We are just not a priority for Nike!" camp ... I think any school with a big alumni/fan base is going to be a priority for Nike, and while certain schools like Alabama and Ohio State will obviously command more attention than Illinois, I don't think we get sidelined vs. the likes of Michigan State or the oft-scolded Syracuse. In other words, I think if you are not OSU/Alabama/Texas, Nike is not really playing favorites.Whether or not you like the '05 uni's, they are light years better font than "1LL1NO1S", and while not my fave's either...they are just fine in every other aspect.
That we have not done a throwback version for a one off, or two.....confuses me.
That team and that year deserves to be honored.
And if it's Nike's fault this hasn't happened, then that's just more reason to hate Nike.
Except for my running shoes. Those are great. So if you are a kid in the sweat shop in Vietnam reading this....I love you. Keep up the good work.
With that said, I have to wonder if there is value in being with a brand that has fewer schools to worry about. From my back-of-the-napkin count, the brands break down like this for Power Five schools (I might have missed some expansion Big XII teams and such, but it's directionally correct!).
Nike: 46
Adidas: 12
Under Armour: 11
Jordan Brand: 6
While I would certainly rather be with Nike than Adidas (why can they make great soccer uniforms and their football/basketball ones are trash?!), I would jump at the opportunity to explore what Under Armour and (especially) Jordan could do. Jordan has one school in each major conference, from what I can tell - North Carolina (ACC), Marquette (Big East), Michigan (Big Ten), Oklahoma (Big XII), UCLA (Pac-12) and Florida (SEC). With updated conferences, that would be 2 in the Big Ten, 2 in the SEC and 1 in the ACC/Big East. They have done a fantastic job with all of those schools' jerseys, not trying to make it about them and honoring those schools' "looks."
I don't know when our contract is up with Nike and I do not know the ins and outs of why we choose the brand we do, but if all else was equal ... I would approach Jordan and say, look - we want a white/orange/navy version of our Flyin' Illini and Script jerseys and nothing else. You can touch them up every few years, but we want to keep those basic looks forever. Those looks will sell way more jerseys than whatever generic, trend-chasing brand we'd otherwise come up with, so let's stick with what works and make some money!
I agree, I’ve been really missing the zig zag designs, as long as it’s subtle enough unlike the first unis of the rebrand. Which I personally liked more than most I think, but they were a little much.
Definitely more of a timeless look. Love our ‘89 throwbacks we currently wear.
Petition to make the throwback oranges/whites are full time and having other older jerseys be throwbacks.
drsmitty74
- Rochester
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
I like your thinking about us becoming a Jordan Brand school, but remember that the Jordan Brand is Nike. As far as I am aware, they aren't even a separate legal entity, it is all just Nike Inc. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't separate Nike and Jordan Brand college-licensing teams at Nike. But really it is the same decision makers at Nike who decide whether they will outfit a team under the Swoosh or Jumpman logo. So there isn't a way to "go to Jordan" and work out a deal with them. I'm sure we can pitch Nike on why we should be a Jordan school. But it's Nike's decision how they want to leverage that brand.
That being said, I could see us on a list of potential Jordan schools. There are some reasons there (basketball pedigree, Jordan's son played (although I am not sure how proud of a connection that is now), Chicago area connections). But clearly they have chosen to be incredibly selective with what schools they choose to use Jordan with (Marquette and Georgetown are outliers, though Big East basketball is a thing and Georgetown was an OG Jordan school 20+ years ago). If they wanted every strong brand to be Jordan, then we would have already seen OSU, PSU, FSU, UGA, LSU, Bama, Texas, USC, Oregon, Kentucky etc. go Jordan as well. They have made a calculated decision to go with 1 team per conference (now 2 due to realignment) to give it an air of prestige. While we would make a somewhat good and somewhat logical choice for Nike to give to Jordan, I don't see a compelling reason for them to do so unless they entirely change their branding strategies and start throwing the Jumpman around everywhere.
All that to say, as I always say when this comes up, Nike/Jordan is the best path forward IMO, so long as the deal we get from them is competitive. Adidas has upped there game in recent years, and Under Armour has done a nice job as far as uniforms and apparel. But if basketball is a priority for us, which I of course imagine it is, then it is clearly better to be aligned with Nike than Adidas, as Nike runs the basketball shoe world. It is a recruiting consideration. As for Under Armour, they were in some seriously tough financial places, and were pulling out of license deals as recently as a few years ago. They have given a big deal to Notre Dame recently, which suggests maybe they have stopped the downward spiral. But that is the only recent deal I can find where UA is handing out big shiny contracts. We will see what happens in the next few years. But also remember Under Armour has also chosen to be fairly selective with the number of schools it signs up with (like Jordan). They already have Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Maryland in the B1G and in this part of the country (with ND). That might be enough for them where we wouldn't be that additive for them. That and their basketball brand is not great.
We are not a huge priority for Nike. Its frustrating. But they are likely our best option. Once we come up in the rebrand cycle, they will give us what we want. They were responsive when Underwood arrived in immediately removing the Groce-era zigzag from the side of the jersey. As I mentioned a few months ago, we can expect a "soft" rebrand in the coming years. Josh and the coaches are in the drivers' seats for what they will want to do. They will decide what is the best path forward for our identity.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
I was more throwing shade at Nike for child labor laughs, and I've also never understood why Adidas can hit home runs in other sports other than BB (laughing at you IU! but your Adidas baseball script is vg).....they also kill it with NHL sweaters.
While Oregon just goes too far...I love the idea each year having one special uniform to honor teams of the past, or something else. Kinda like the NHL does with the "city connect" sweaters, and the Winter Classic/Stadium Series.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I've been on this bandwagon for a while, haha. I think the way forward is to have one of the throwback looks - either Script or Flyin' Illini - be our "default" set. Then the other one is our "special occasion" jersey. Either way, it's frankly criminal that we do not have BOTH uniforms in white, orange and navy.
Given that the Flyin' Illini uniforms are much more associated with a specific team of the past AND that the DIA appears all-in on using the Script font and making apparel in that style, I think the most likely outcome that I would still be extraordinarily pleased with would be:
Home
Away
Alternate
(MS Paint Master FOTN strikes again!!)
Alternate #1: Special Occasions (Braggin' Rights, NCAAT, etc.)
Alternate #2: Big Games (Especially on the road)
Alternate #3
On thing I noticed while finding these pictures is that we really cleaned up the orange Flyin' Illini jersey a lot more than the older white throwback. I would love to see a renewed version of the white one with the smaller letters and numbers!
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
I've been on this bandwagon for a while, haha. I think the way forward is to have one of the throwback looks - either Script or Flyin' Illini - be our "default" set. Then the other one is our "special occasion" jersey. Either way, it's frankly criminal that we do not have BOTH uniforms in white, orange and navy.
Given that the Flyin' Illini uniforms are much more associated with a specific team of the past AND that the DIA appears all-in on using the Script font and making apparel in that style, I think the most likely outcome that I would still be extraordinarily pleased with would be:
Home
Away
Alternate
View attachment 31075
(MS Paint Master FOTN strikes again!!)
Alternate #1: Special Occasions (Braggin' Rights, NCAAT, etc.)
Alternate #2: Big Games (Especially on the road)
Alternate #3
On thing I noticed while finding these pictures is that we really cleaned up the orange Flyin' Illini jersey a lot more than the older white throwback. I would love to see a renewed version of the white one with the smaller letters and numbers!
Rubber stamped!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I miss the white Flyin' Illini set, those were even better than the orange, IMO.
I mean, everything new feels out of place until it doesn't.
I always thought the zigzag was a nice, harmless artifact to pull through from our past and if we committed to it, could be a unique brand asset. But you're right. They won't bring it back because it's too closely associated with the Chief.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Yes! No!
You're thinking of the wrong zig zags.
The fat lightning era... We lost a lot and looked bad doing it. Let's not.
You're right... Though they may have been the inspiration for the 2015-17 abominations... No thanks, on both counts.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Watch us wear our terrible whites tonight.
- Status