We've kind of had this conversation in the Football Uniform thread, but it really surprises me how much more thought Bielema and his staff seem to have over uniform selection, designs etc. than the basketball program. The Script and the Fighting Illini tops (regardless of color combination) are far superior than the plain 1LL1NO1S and are arguably some of the coolest in the conference. I don't get it either.
Illini Basketball Uniforms
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I think one thing that's been pointed out or speculated on here is that Nike may not have the right to sell those Fighting Illini or Script jerseys (all the ones you find anywhere are made by Original Retro Brand). The situation where this would occur is if at some point the University (owner of the trademarks) has an exclusive deal with Original Retro Brand pertaining to the production and sale of the jerseys featuring those trademarks. In which case Nike can still produce those jerseys for use by the team, but not for sale to the public. And then perhaps Nike has terms in their agreement that require the standard issue Nike jerseys to be worn a certain number of games, because they want fans to see those jerseys, and hopefully buy them?
I’ve never heard this before but
it definitely makes sense. I always learn new things on this board!
Just want to be clear, this is all speculation based on the very little info publicly available, and it may be completely wrong!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
While I hope you are wrong, it just might be the most likely scenario here ... I just cannot logically accept that anybody in a decision-making role here (A) doesn't see the obvious solution of Flyin' Illini + Script in all three colors or (B) actually LIKE the 1LL1NO1S uniforms and/or be so ignorant about how many people don't like them, lol.
If this is true, let's hope contractual obstacles expire soon!
maybe scripts but Nike did release non-player versions of the flyin illini jerseys when we first started wearing those I believe. It could have changed though. I used to see some being sold but they would sell out quick. Think there's some on ebay and poshmark still like this one. https://poshmark.com/listing/Nike-U...8GjUF7AqFrtEXSF7c2U-KfwaIv9R07wqthTIQ3bUWONwi
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I just have a hard time thinking Nike couldn't buy the rights if they wanted to do that. Buying a basketball uniform design, even one for a popular power conference team like Illinois, would be a rounding error to Nike. They'd also make a lot of money on jersey sales given how popular the script uniforms are.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I also just cannot imagine that we are "stuck" in any way going on THIS many years with the same uniforms. I mean, our uniforms have not even received the tiniest touch-up since the 2018-19 (!!) season! This will be the EIGHTH year in a row with zero movement on the uniform topic ... that's just insane, and you hardly ever see that. It literally makes you wonder if someone in charge takes a perverse pride in not caring, haha. However, it also makes it bewildering to me that we somehow got both the (orange version of the) Flyin' Illini and Script uniforms for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, respectively. Those are truly well-designed uniforms that were drawn up for what was an awful program at the time ... we have gotten exponentially better in the meantime, and the attention paid to our uniforms has gone in the opposite direction.
My guess is that this board represents essentially the top 1% of fans, as we spend a lot more time on our fandom than regular fans, and that as a result we vastly overestimate the potential profits to be gained by doing this. For Nike I think the profit motive behind making college basketball jerseys is not in jersey sales but as an advertising cost. Getting the Nike "swoosh" seen as much as humanly possible. And sometimes you see companies make the decision that it's cheaper and just as effective to trot out an old advertising campaign than produce a new one. I think it's probably similar thinking here.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I get what you're saying, but just search "Orange Krush Illini" on Google (or look around at a home game), and I think it is obvious that the vast majority of fans who purchased ANY type of jersey went with a throwback and/or a specific Orange Krush version of the Flyin' Illini throwback (when they easily could have made an "ORANGE KRUSH" jersey with the 1LL1NO1S font)...
Anyway, I am not an economics genius, but I have to figure Nike indeed DOES want to sell as many jerseys as possible, haha. And I think it's obvious they do/would sell more throwback jerseys than 1LL1NO1S jerseys. And I think the fact that this seems like SUCH an easy situation to tidy up kind of negates the assumption that this generally isn't their biggest issue going right now ... like, any firm that can easily fix a problem to make more money should do that, even if you have more pressing matters.
The old saying (and you can substitute any company and product) Nike is not in the business to make college basketball jerseys; Nike is in the business to make a profit for shareholders.
Sure but Nike brings in $50 billion a year. How much is the profit to Nike on one basketball jersey? Probably single digit dollars. Let's say $10. How many Illinois fans are there? How many buy jerseys? How many jerseys would need to be sold to get Nike's attention? If they sold 10,000 additional Illinois jerseys a year (which is a generous estimate - most people don't buy jerseys, and most people that do buy jerseys already have one and may not buy another) we're talking $100,000 in extra revenue. That's about 0.0002% of Nike's annual revenue.I get what you're saying, but just search "Orange Krush Illini" on Google (or look around at a home game), and I think it is obvious that the vast majority of fans who purchased ANY type of jersey went with a throwback and/or a specific Orange Krush version of the Flyin' Illini throwback (when they easily could have made an "ORANGE KRUSH" jersey with the 1LL1NO1S font)...
Anyway, I am not an economics genius, but I have to figure Nike indeed DOES want to sell as many jerseys as possible, haha. And I think it's obvious they do/would sell more throwback jerseys than 1LL1NO1S jerseys. And I think the fact that this seems like SUCH an easy situation to tidy up kind of negates the assumption that this generally isn't their biggest issue going right now ... like, any firm that can easily fix a problem to make more money should do that, even if you have more pressing matters.
Argh hate when I realize I made a mistake but too late to edit - mixing up revenue and profit here. Revenue probably like $100/jersey so like $1 million, 0.002% of annual revenue.
So...you're saying there's a chance???
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
For sure, but little things add up when they become a pattern. If we took this logic to the extreme, why would Nike give a crap about ANY college basketball jersey anywhere? They'd just give everyone a bland template and update every 15 years (depressingly not THAT far off from what they're doing, haha...). I guess my main point is if they are going to even BE in the business of making college basketball jerseys and EVER updating them - which they are - they'd at least put an ounce of thought into sales strategy and design. Illinois alone is one jersey, but I am guessing they have a broad strategy for college sports design ... and EVERY program by itself is totally insignificant. I just have to believe part of the problem is on our end if schools like Mizzou are getting much more regular updates.
Well yeah, that's the thing, they're pretty much already doing that.
Most of these jerseys don't really get updated for long stretches of time, but people are OK with it, because fanbases at places like Kentucky, Duke, and UNC got the jerseys they want and are perfectly fine with that. We just very unluckily got stuck with jerseys we don't like.
There will certainly be an update at some point. It looks like our deal with Nike is through the 2025-2026 academic year. Maybe when we re-sign that deal (or go with someone else though I think that would probably be a bad idea) we also get new jerseys, or at least start the process to get new jerseys.
PizzaHutParkingLot
- Vodice, Croatia
Winning looks? Breaking down Illinois basketball’s record by uniform
Just how much does a uniform impact performance?
www.thechampaignroom.com
I immediately thought of @Fighter of the Nightman
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Also, I just wanted to try to lay out by year what uniforms we have been rocking since I am a visual learner. 
I will give these jerseys subjective names so I don't have to post 26 pictures, but from what I can tell we switched to the "Dee Brown Era" uniforms for the 1999-2000 season ... so I will start there. First I will post a picture of each (home white) uniform with its accompanying given name, and then the list will follow.
Dee Brown Era - 7 Seasons
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Mid-Weber Years - 2 Seasons
McCamey Era - 2 Seasons
Brandon Paul Era - 4 Seasons
1LL1NO1S Zig Zags - 4 Seasons
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1LL1NO1S Split Color - 1 Season
Current 1LL1NO1S - 7 Seasons (Assuming we don't get a pleasant surprise this year)
UNIFORM BY SEASON
I alternated between orange and blue simply to make a switch more visually obvious ... no color code or anything.
2000 - Dee Brown Era
2001 - Dee Brown Era
2002 - Dee Brown Era
2003 - Dee Brown Era
2004 - Dee Brown Era
2005 - Dee Brown Era
2006 - Dee Brown Era
2007 - Mid-Weber Years
2008 - Mid-Weber Years
2009 - McCamey Era
2010 - McCamey Era
2011 - Brandon Paul Era
2012 - Brandon Paul Era
2013 - Brandon Paul Era
2014 - Brandon Paul Era
2015 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2016 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2017 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2018 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2019 - 1LL1NO1S Split Color
2020 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2021 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2022 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2023 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2024 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2025 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2026 - Current 1LL1NO1S
So we are now going to be tied for the longest streak this century of having the exact same uniforms, and we have suffered through SOME type of 1LL1NO1S rag for over 10 years now. I'm going to put forth the following two assumptions that I would argue are very reasonable:
1) It was a rather conscious choice not to switch from the Dee Brown Era uniforms, and that is why they were kept for so long.
2) That is NOT the case with the Current 1LL1NO1S set, in that there is no one at Nike or within the program who is strongly advocating keeping them because they think they're so great.
Nobody has to take those two assumptions on faith, but if you agree with them ... there is irrefutable proof that less attention is being paid to Illini basketball uniforms right now than at any point in the last 30 years.
I will give these jerseys subjective names so I don't have to post 26 pictures, but from what I can tell we switched to the "Dee Brown Era" uniforms for the 1999-2000 season ... so I will start there. First I will post a picture of each (home white) uniform with its accompanying given name, and then the list will follow.Dee Brown Era - 7 Seasons
Mid-Weber Years - 2 Seasons
McCamey Era - 2 Seasons
Brandon Paul Era - 4 Seasons
1LL1NO1S Zig Zags - 4 Seasons
1LL1NO1S Split Color - 1 Season
Current 1LL1NO1S - 7 Seasons (Assuming we don't get a pleasant surprise this year)
UNIFORM BY SEASON
I alternated between orange and blue simply to make a switch more visually obvious ... no color code or anything.
2000 - Dee Brown Era
2001 - Dee Brown Era
2002 - Dee Brown Era
2003 - Dee Brown Era
2004 - Dee Brown Era
2005 - Dee Brown Era
2006 - Dee Brown Era
2007 - Mid-Weber Years
2008 - Mid-Weber Years
2009 - McCamey Era
2010 - McCamey Era
2011 - Brandon Paul Era
2012 - Brandon Paul Era
2013 - Brandon Paul Era
2014 - Brandon Paul Era
2015 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2016 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2017 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2018 - 1LL1NO1S Zig Zags
2019 - 1LL1NO1S Split Color
2020 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2021 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2022 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2023 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2024 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2025 - Current 1LL1NO1S
2026 - Current 1LL1NO1S
So we are now going to be tied for the longest streak this century of having the exact same uniforms, and we have suffered through SOME type of 1LL1NO1S rag for over 10 years now.
I'm going to put forth the following two assumptions that I would argue are very reasonable:1) It was a rather conscious choice not to switch from the Dee Brown Era uniforms, and that is why they were kept for so long.
2) That is NOT the case with the Current 1LL1NO1S set, in that there is no one at Nike or within the program who is strongly advocating keeping them because they think they're so great.
Nobody has to take those two assumptions on faith, but if you agree with them ... there is irrefutable proof that less attention is being paid to Illini basketball uniforms right now than at any point in the last 30 years.
It would be interesting to see how many schools have more than two basketball jerseys in production.
It would seem to make sense for Nike to produce one of our throwbacks instead of one of our standard jerseys. That they aren't doing that already is why I think there's some kind of licensing issue at play.
However, it may not make much sense for Nike to produce a throwback jersey in addition to our two standard jerseys. Even though Nike is a huge company, they do not have infinite resources (time, labor, equipment, etc.) This means that to put a third Illinois jersey into production, they would have to halt production on something else. Add to that the costs associated with set up and distribution of a new SKU, it's probably hard to make a good business case for Nike adding a third Illinois basketball jersey.
It would seem to make sense for Nike to produce one of our throwbacks instead of one of our standard jerseys. That they aren't doing that already is why I think there's some kind of licensing issue at play.
However, it may not make much sense for Nike to produce a throwback jersey in addition to our two standard jerseys. Even though Nike is a huge company, they do not have infinite resources (time, labor, equipment, etc.) This means that to put a third Illinois jersey into production, they would have to halt production on something else. Add to that the costs associated with set up and distribution of a new SKU, it's probably hard to make a good business case for Nike adding a third Illinois basketball jersey.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
This is what kind of astounds me, though - I doubt ANYBODY is asking Nike to touch up our 1LL1NO1S jerseys, and most would rather see them receive a merciful death already.
Some legal loophole (or total incompetence/negligence) seems to be the only explanation for why they don't just say, "Alright, we have these two throwbacks that sell better than our current ones ... let's just scrap the current ones, and we'll whip up each throwbacks in the other colors and just roll with those."OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
The other way to look at this is perhaps Nike can look at the savings they'll get from already having the templates if they were to buy the script and the FI font. It wouldn't necessarily be true savings in terms of a FTE not being needed, but their design team could work on other things because there's basically zero effort needed for these. Just buy what you need, set the color templates, and you're done. Let that design person work on other projects.
I obviously don't understand all of the economics behind this, but it sure seems like this isn't a hard thing to justify financially when you look at the full picture - particularly when we see proof like the photos with so many wearing uniforms that are of specific templates. And, more telling, which jerseys are distinctly NOT seen very much at games.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
This makes a LOT of sense. It's why we haven't seen a lot of MLS teams get third kits from Adidas. At some point, you saturate the market.
I think the photos provided earlier make a pretty compelling case for the current white script and orange Flying Illini jerseys to be the two mass-produced jerseys. Sometimes, it's just easy to follow the money.
One thing to think about with the licensing is that our program is probably somewhere between #15-25 for priority with Nike, but the #1 for Champaign based and UIUC alumni owned NiL Store (Campus Ink). Of course NiL Store is going to pay more to license the alts than what Nike cares.
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