band camp
- STL City
One that has a different opinion is a "sicko"?
Smh...
Illini Basketball Uniforms
- Status
Smh...
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
To be clear, I am not necessary saying the women's uniforms are better at all ... I was merely trying to show that I think an outline would make the men's font/numbers look a lot less cheap. Using a more "direct" comparison, here is the men's basketball jersey font vs. the baseball jersey font:
Again, this might all come down to personal taste to an extent, but the small 1LL1NO1S font with the small number on a basketball jersey with no outline just looks unfinished and unprofessional to me. Whether or not you LIKE these designs, they look like they had a lot of thought put into them, and they look refined:
And on that note, I'll add one more reason to my list above.
4. We are currently using one of the laziest and most widely distributed Nike templates ever, and WE are the school that has kept it the longest! When we have two unique designs that are solely ours and entirely connected to OUR history alone, how does this not piss fans off more?? We deserve a hell of a lot more as a program, given our current and historical status. Even if you literally LOVE the 1LL1NO1S jerseys, would you rather have an immediately recognizable jersey that is unique to the Illini Basketball brand or be a part of this list?
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
No, we are all sickos, together, in that we spend a not-insignificant amount of time obsessing over Illinois branding and uniforms.
Obviously you dont understand that sicko is a compliment
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Our orange jerseys legit look like practice jerseys.To be clear, I am not necessary saying the women's uniforms are better at all ... I was merely trying to show that I think an outline would make the men's font/numbers look a lot less cheap. Using a more "direct" comparison, here is the men's basketball jersey font vs. the baseball jersey font:
Again, this might all come down to personal taste to an extent, but the small 1LL1NO1S font with the small number on a basketball jersey with no outline just looks unfinished and unprofessional to me. Whether or not you LIKE these designs, they look like they had a lot of thought put into them, and they look refined:
And on that note, I'll add one more reason to my list above.
4. We are currently using one of the laziest and most widely distributed Nike templates ever, and WE are the school that has kept it the longest! When we have two unique designs that are solely ours and entirely connected to OUR history alone, how does this not piss fans off more?? We deserve a hell of a lot more as a program, given our current and historical status. Even if you literally LOVE the 1LL1NO1S jerseys, would you rather have an immediately recognizable jersey that is unique to the Illini Basketball brand or be a part of this list?
I think the current state of our uniforms is so frustrating because it would be so incredibly easy just to have all three colors (orange, blue, white) in one of our two AMAZING throwback uniforms. It's literally that simple, heck even a more minimalist version of our throwbacks would work as well. I just think Brad just doesn't really care, which is fine that's his right to do so and the team has had success with these uniforms. However, as a fan I would love to see something new that represents our team better than our boring bland uniforms we have now.
The single colored color on our uniforms bothers me more than the bad font...To be clear, I am not necessary saying the women's uniforms are better at all ... I was merely trying to show that I think an outline would make the men's font/numbers look a lot less cheap. Using a more "direct" comparison, here is the men's basketball jersey font vs. the baseball jersey font:
Again, this might all come down to personal taste to an extent, but the small 1LL1NO1S font with the small number on a basketball jersey with no outline just looks unfinished and unprofessional to me. Whether or not you LIKE these designs, they look like they had a lot of thought put into them, and they look refined:
And on that note, I'll add one more reason to my list above.
4. We are currently using one of the laziest and most widely distributed Nike templates ever, and WE are the school that has kept it the longest! When we have two unique designs that are solely ours and entirely connected to OUR history alone, how does this not piss fans off more?? We deserve a hell of a lot more as a program, given our current and historical status. Even if you literally LOVE the 1LL1NO1S jerseys, would you rather have an immediately recognizable jersey that is unique to the Illini Basketball brand or be a part of this list?
Edit: also the lack of stripes along the arm is a just awful.
I will say this, whoever makes the decisions on the uniforms (other than the throwbacks) is ill informed. Give us basic Orange, Blue, and White Jerseys (seen below) without the use of the the hideous 1 in the name and keep the 89 throwbacks and then give us 04-05 throwback uniform (and yes i want them baggy like they were during that time frame). That's it, that is all we are asking for.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
All this talk got me thinking of how the Big Ten schools who are affiliated with Nike divide up as far as uniforms go. As a reminder before the list, these schools were excluded:
Adidas: Indiana, Nebraska, Rutgers, Washington
Under Armour: Maryland, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Jordan Brand: Michigan, UCLA
Bland Nike Template - Pretty much the same minimalist jersey, the thick mono-color trim around the neck and that school's specific font plastered in a straight line onto the template with no font outline (the lone exception being USC's home white). Nike may mess around with the striping patterns on the side or they may go full-boring, but these are all pretty much the same jersey recycled through various schools.
Other Simple Nike Design - These are honestly barely different, but they at least deviate from the template above in minor ways ... and since there are only a couple, they are Minnesota's multi-colored trim, OSU/Purdue font being arched or PSU not having the collar) ... still pretty unimaginative. Basically, Nike isn't trying very hard, but it doesn't have quite the same "one size fits all" feel as the ones above.
So yeah, to my surprise only two categories that are pretty much exactly the same ... Nike is lazy as shlt!! Lol. Meanwhile, all of these schools have throwback uniforms, with some being actually really good such as Ohio State's. My new theory is that the guy Nike put in charge of college basketball uniforms literally could not care less, he let his hack nephew come up with a trendy/minimalist template when he was in college several years ago, and now everyone is being held hostage out of spite as said nephew fails to start a career.
While I know they're owned by Nike, the two Jordan Brand uniforms in the conference are of course much better and just look so much higher-quality than the ones above, and you will notice our Script and Flyin' Illini jerseys have a LOT more in common with these than the standard Nike ones above ... SO SWITCH TO THEM FULL-TIME!
Adidas: Indiana, Nebraska, Rutgers, Washington
Under Armour: Maryland, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Jordan Brand: Michigan, UCLA
Bland Nike Template - Pretty much the same minimalist jersey, the thick mono-color trim around the neck and that school's specific font plastered in a straight line onto the template with no font outline (the lone exception being USC's home white). Nike may mess around with the striping patterns on the side or they may go full-boring, but these are all pretty much the same jersey recycled through various schools.
Other Simple Nike Design - These are honestly barely different, but they at least deviate from the template above in minor ways ... and since there are only a couple, they are Minnesota's multi-colored trim, OSU/Purdue font being arched or PSU not having the collar) ... still pretty unimaginative. Basically, Nike isn't trying very hard, but it doesn't have quite the same "one size fits all" feel as the ones above.
So yeah, to my surprise only two categories that are pretty much exactly the same ... Nike is lazy as shlt!! Lol. Meanwhile, all of these schools have throwback uniforms, with some being actually really good such as Ohio State's. My new theory is that the guy Nike put in charge of college basketball uniforms literally could not care less, he let his hack nephew come up with a trendy/minimalist template when he was in college several years ago, and now everyone is being held hostage out of spite as said nephew fails to start a career.
While I know they're owned by Nike, the two Jordan Brand uniforms in the conference are of course much better and just look so much higher-quality than the ones above, and you will notice our Script and Flyin' Illini jerseys have a LOT more in common with these than the standard Nike ones above ... SO SWITCH TO THEM FULL-TIME!
I am a big fan of how that comment about not liking cursive got TONS of shade when it dropped on September 1st, and now is suddenly getting a new round of shade a month-and-a-half later. Let's all agree to meet back here on December 1st to heap more scorn onto that comment.
It deserves all the shade.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
On that note of switching to either the Script or Flyin' Illini (or preferably both) full-time, I think it's bizarre when anyone - and presumably someone who makes decisions in the DIA - would act like this is taking away the novelty of the throwbacks or something. As stated previously in this thread, we don't reserve the throwbacks for big games whatsoever anyway; we wore one of the throwbacks for the Minnesota, Rutgers and Little Rock games while wearing either the white/orange default for the highly hyped Purdue home game, our BTT game against Maryland and our NCAA Tournament Second Round game vs. Kentucky ... so again, we are not saving them as "special occasion" uniforms right now in any way whatsoever.
Also, people would do better to look at this as finally correcting a decades-long mistake of not sticking with these great designs through the years rather than picking up on a trend and "abusing" the throwbacks. When you look at some of these incredibly successful programs, they haven't kept LITERALLY the exact same uniforms ... but they have updated the same classic LOOK to maintain consistency with minor tweaks that don't go too far away from the tried and true. I'm including us with the Flyin' Illini set to show that we actually did this exact same thing.
(... Trigger warning...)
And finally us. People can say we aren't a Blue Blood like the programs above, but neither are Auburn/Iowa football ... and yet both have stuck with a now-iconic look that gives their programs and brands legitimacy. We can keep refining the trim, font size, etc. all we want over the years, as we clearly did below ... but let's fix our original sin of not sticking with a primary look (or two) and rock it from here on out! Okay, rant over.
- would act like this is taking away the novelty of the throwbacks or something. As stated previously in this thread, we don't reserve the throwbacks for big games whatsoever anyway; we wore one of the throwbacks for the Minnesota, Rutgers and Little Rock games while wearing either the white/orange default for the highly hyped Purdue home game, our BTT game against Maryland and our NCAA Tournament Second Round game vs. Kentucky ... so again, we are not saving them as "special occasion" uniforms right now in any way whatsoever.Also, people would do better to look at this as finally correcting a decades-long mistake of not sticking with these great designs through the years rather than picking up on a trend and "abusing" the throwbacks. When you look at some of these incredibly successful programs, they haven't kept LITERALLY the exact same uniforms ... but they have updated the same classic LOOK to maintain consistency with minor tweaks that don't go too far away from the tried and true. I'm including us with the Flyin' Illini set to show that we actually did this exact same thing.
(... Trigger warning...)
And finally us. People can say we aren't a Blue Blood like the programs above, but neither are Auburn/Iowa football ... and yet both have stuck with a now-iconic look that gives their programs and brands legitimacy. We can keep refining the trim, font size, etc. all we want over the years, as we clearly did below ... but let's fix our original sin of not sticking with a primary look (or two) and rock it from here on out! Okay, rant over.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Well, calling all uniform nerds! I have had this impression that we have been (unfortunately) moving more and more toward the default 1LL1NO1S uniforms lately, and I wanted to take a look to see if I was actually correct ... enjoy my massive-waste-of-time count of our uniforms worn by season since the 2019-20 season when we got back on track. First by season (and yes, I am on PTO today )...
2019-20
White Default: 7 times
Script Throwback: 6 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Orange Default: 6 times
Navy Default: 6 times
2020-21
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 7 times
White Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2021-22
Script Throwback: 10 times
Orange Default: 9 times
White Default: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
2022-23
White Default: 10 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2023-24
White Default: 13 times
Script Throwback: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 7 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2024-25
White Default: 12 times
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
... then by uniform:
Script Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 10 times
2022-23: 8 times
2023-24: 9 times
2024-25: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 6 times
2021-22: 6 times
2022-23: 6 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 6 times
White 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 7 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 8 times
2022-23: 10 times
2023-24: 13 times
2024-25: 12 times
Orange 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 9 times
2021-22: 9 times
2022-23: 7 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 9 times
Navy 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 2 times
2021-22: 0 times
2022-23: 2 times
2023-24: 2 times
2024-25: 0 times
Overall Throwback / Default Split
2019-20: 12 throwback / 19 default
2020-21: 13 throwback / 18 default
2021-22: 16 throwback / 17 default
2022-23: 14 throwback / 19 default
2023-24: 16 throwback / 22 default
2024-25: 14 throwback / 21 default
So other than the Navy Default suffering a staggering fall from grace, there hasn't been that much of a pattern. However, it's worth noting two things about the first and last year in this list:
(1) For the 2019-20 season, we did not have the Script option until the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game vs. Miami (FL) on December 2. So, we played 7 games without the Script as an option, FWIW.
(2) Last year had a more typical distribution until the Duke MSG loss. After that game, we wore our default white or orange uniform in 7 out of 8 games (the lone exception being wearing the Script Throwback for our victory vs. Xavier in the NCAAT First Round) ... that might be where part of my perception is coming from!
So having already wasted all this time, I wanted to see if there was any noticeable pattern for "big games," if not for total games. After all, we very often wear the default jerseys at home for those early season cupcake games anyway, so it kind of skews the total. I had to have a subjective cutoff somewhere, so a "big game" is (A) vs. a top 25 team, (B) Braggin' Rights or (C) postseason play like the BTT or NCAAT.
"Big Games" Only by Season
2019-20
Navy Default at #3 Maryland
Navy Default at #18 Iowa
Navy Default at #19 Ohio State
Orange Default vs. #5 Michigan
Orange Default at #9 Penn State
Orange Default vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Script vs. #9 Maryland
Flyin' Illini at #14 Michigan State
White Default vs. #18 Iowa
2020-21
Script vs. Loyola in NCAAT Second Round
Script vs. Drexel in NCAAT First Round
Script vs. #9 OSU in BTT Championship (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #5 Iowa in BTT Semifinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #19 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Ohio State
Orange Default at #7 Ohio State
Orange Default at #10 Duke
Orange Default at #23 Wisconsin
Orange Default at Missouri
Flyin' Illini at #2 Michigan
Flyin' Illini vs. #7 Iowa
Navy Default vs. #2 Baylor (Indianapolis, IN)
Navy Default at #19 Rutgers
White Default vs. Rutgers in BTT (Indianapolis, IN)
2021-22
Script vs. Chattanooga in NCAAT First Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
Script vs. Indiana in BTT First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #4 Purdue
Script vs. #11 Arizona
Script vs. #24 Iowa
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default at #3 Purdue
Orange Default at #19 Michigan State
Orange Default vs. #22 Ohio State
White Default vs. #10 Michigan State
White Default vs. #11 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #15 Houston in NCAAT Second Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
2022-23
Script vs. #14 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Northwestern
Script vs. #24 Rutgers
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Flyin' Illini vs. Arkansas in NCAAT First Round (Des Moines, IA)
Flyin' Illini vs. #2 Texas
Flyin' Illini at #14 Indiana
Orange Default at #5 Purdue
Orange Default vs. #8 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV)
Orange Default vs. #16 Virginia (Las Vegas, NV)
White Default vs. Penn State in BTT First Round (Chicago, IL)
White Default at #22 Maryland
2023-24
Script vs. Wisconsin in BTT Championship (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. Nebraska in BTT Semifinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. #3 Purdue
Script vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default vs. #1 UConn in NCAAT Elite Eight (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Iowa State in NCAAT Sweet Sixteen (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Marquette
White Default vs. Duquesne in NCAAT Second Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Morehead State in NCAAT First Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Ohio State in BTT Quarterfinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Flyin' Illini at #1 Purdue
Flyin' Illini at #17 Tennessee
2024-25
Orange Default vs. #18 Kentucky in NCAAT Second Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Orange Default vs. #11 Maryland in BTT Quarterfinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Orange Default vs. #8 Alabama (Birmingham, AL)
Orange Default at #11 Wisconsin
Orange Default at #12 Michigan State
Script vs. Xavier in NCAAT First Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Script vs. #1 Tennessee
Script vs. #11 Michigan State
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
White Default vs. Iowa in BTT Second Round (Indianapolis, IN)
White Default at #15 Michigan
White Default vs. #18 Purdue
White Default vs. #20 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #3 Duke (New York, NY)
Flyin' Illini at #9 Oregon
Flyin' Illini vs. #19 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO)
So especially if you didn't count Braggin' Rights (where we seem to have settled into wearing Script every year?), there has definitely been a decided shift toward wearing the default uniforms a lot more in big games, especially postseason play. From 2019-20 through the 2023-24 Big Ten Tournament run, we wore one of our throwbacks in all 6 NCAA Tournament games and 11 out of 14 postseason games. Since the start of the 2024 NCAA Tournament when we made a HARD shift toward the default uniforms, we have worn a throwback in just 1 out of 8 postseason games (the aforementioned Xavier win).
I can live with the reality that we might have some boneheaded clause that forces us to wear the 1LL1NO1S defaults a certain amount of the time (the distribution in those years certainly suggests something like that if you ask me...), but man ... I at least want us wearing one of those beautiful throwbacks on the brightest and biggest stages!!
P.S. Another weird trend I noticed is that we are wearing orange at home less often each year, especially compared to past decades. I feel like for the vast majority of the last 30+ years, the orange uniform functioned as a true "alternate" - teams like the 2005 squad wore it at home regularly. However...
Home Games in Orange Uniform
2019-20: 5 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2020-21: 4 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2021-22: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2022-23: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2023-24: 3 times (2 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2024-25: 2 times (0 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
Zero times seeing the orange Flyin' Illini throwbacks at the House of 'Paign since February of 2024?? Unacceptable! Maybe this has something to do with effectively retiring the navy "road" uniform, which makes the orange seem less like an alternate? No idea, but it's a lame trend if you ask me!
)...2019-20
White Default: 7 times
Script Throwback: 6 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Orange Default: 6 times
Navy Default: 6 times
2020-21
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 7 times
White Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2021-22
Script Throwback: 10 times
Orange Default: 9 times
White Default: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
2022-23
White Default: 10 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2023-24
White Default: 13 times
Script Throwback: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 7 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2024-25
White Default: 12 times
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
... then by uniform:
Script Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 10 times
2022-23: 8 times
2023-24: 9 times
2024-25: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 6 times
2021-22: 6 times
2022-23: 6 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 6 times
White 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 7 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 8 times
2022-23: 10 times
2023-24: 13 times
2024-25: 12 times
Orange 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 9 times
2021-22: 9 times
2022-23: 7 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 9 times
Navy 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 2 times
2021-22: 0 times
2022-23: 2 times
2023-24: 2 times
2024-25: 0 times
Overall Throwback / Default Split
2019-20: 12 throwback / 19 default
2020-21: 13 throwback / 18 default
2021-22: 16 throwback / 17 default
2022-23: 14 throwback / 19 default
2023-24: 16 throwback / 22 default
2024-25: 14 throwback / 21 default
So other than the Navy Default suffering a staggering fall from grace, there hasn't been that much of a pattern. However, it's worth noting two things about the first and last year in this list:
(1) For the 2019-20 season, we did not have the Script option until the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game vs. Miami (FL) on December 2. So, we played 7 games without the Script as an option, FWIW.
(2) Last year had a more typical distribution until the Duke MSG loss. After that game, we wore our default white or orange uniform in 7 out of 8 games (the lone exception being wearing the Script Throwback for our victory vs. Xavier in the NCAAT First Round) ... that might be where part of my perception is coming from!
So having already wasted all this time, I wanted to see if there was any noticeable pattern for "big games," if not for total games. After all, we very often wear the default jerseys at home for those early season cupcake games anyway, so it kind of skews the total. I had to have a subjective cutoff somewhere, so a "big game" is (A) vs. a top 25 team, (B) Braggin' Rights or (C) postseason play like the BTT or NCAAT.
"Big Games" Only by Season
2019-20
Navy Default at #3 Maryland
Navy Default at #18 Iowa
Navy Default at #19 Ohio State
Orange Default vs. #5 Michigan
Orange Default at #9 Penn State
Orange Default vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Script vs. #9 Maryland
Flyin' Illini at #14 Michigan State
White Default vs. #18 Iowa
2020-21
Script vs. Loyola in NCAAT Second Round
Script vs. Drexel in NCAAT First Round
Script vs. #9 OSU in BTT Championship (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #5 Iowa in BTT Semifinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #19 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Ohio State
Orange Default at #7 Ohio State
Orange Default at #10 Duke
Orange Default at #23 Wisconsin
Orange Default at Missouri
Flyin' Illini at #2 Michigan
Flyin' Illini vs. #7 Iowa
Navy Default vs. #2 Baylor (Indianapolis, IN)
Navy Default at #19 Rutgers
White Default vs. Rutgers in BTT (Indianapolis, IN)
2021-22
Script vs. Chattanooga in NCAAT First Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
Script vs. Indiana in BTT First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #4 Purdue
Script vs. #11 Arizona
Script vs. #24 Iowa
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default at #3 Purdue
Orange Default at #19 Michigan State
Orange Default vs. #22 Ohio State
White Default vs. #10 Michigan State
White Default vs. #11 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #15 Houston in NCAAT Second Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
2022-23
Script vs. #14 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Northwestern
Script vs. #24 Rutgers
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Flyin' Illini vs. Arkansas in NCAAT First Round (Des Moines, IA)
Flyin' Illini vs. #2 Texas
Flyin' Illini at #14 Indiana
Orange Default at #5 Purdue
Orange Default vs. #8 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV)
Orange Default vs. #16 Virginia (Las Vegas, NV)
White Default vs. Penn State in BTT First Round (Chicago, IL)
White Default at #22 Maryland
2023-24
Script vs. Wisconsin in BTT Championship (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. Nebraska in BTT Semifinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. #3 Purdue
Script vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default vs. #1 UConn in NCAAT Elite Eight (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Iowa State in NCAAT Sweet Sixteen (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Marquette
White Default vs. Duquesne in NCAAT Second Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Morehead State in NCAAT First Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Ohio State in BTT Quarterfinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Flyin' Illini at #1 Purdue
Flyin' Illini at #17 Tennessee
2024-25
Orange Default vs. #18 Kentucky in NCAAT Second Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Orange Default vs. #11 Maryland in BTT Quarterfinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Orange Default vs. #8 Alabama (Birmingham, AL)
Orange Default at #11 Wisconsin
Orange Default at #12 Michigan State
Script vs. Xavier in NCAAT First Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Script vs. #1 Tennessee
Script vs. #11 Michigan State
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
White Default vs. Iowa in BTT Second Round (Indianapolis, IN)
White Default at #15 Michigan
White Default vs. #18 Purdue
White Default vs. #20 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #3 Duke (New York, NY)
Flyin' Illini at #9 Oregon
Flyin' Illini vs. #19 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO)
So especially if you didn't count Braggin' Rights (where we seem to have settled into wearing Script every year?), there has definitely been a decided shift toward wearing the default uniforms a lot more in big games, especially postseason play. From 2019-20 through the 2023-24 Big Ten Tournament run, we wore one of our throwbacks in all 6 NCAA Tournament games and 11 out of 14 postseason games. Since the start of the 2024 NCAA Tournament when we made a HARD shift toward the default uniforms, we have worn a throwback in just 1 out of 8 postseason games (the aforementioned Xavier win).
I can live with the reality that we might have some boneheaded clause that forces us to wear the 1LL1NO1S defaults a certain amount of the time (the distribution in those years certainly suggests something like that if you ask me...), but man ... I at least want us wearing one of those beautiful throwbacks on the brightest and biggest stages!!
P.S. Another weird trend I noticed is that we are wearing orange at home less often each year, especially compared to past decades. I feel like for the vast majority of the last 30+ years, the orange uniform functioned as a true "alternate" - teams like the 2005 squad wore it at home regularly. However...
Home Games in Orange Uniform
2019-20: 5 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2020-21: 4 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2021-22: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2022-23: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2023-24: 3 times (2 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2024-25: 2 times (0 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
Zero times seeing the orange Flyin' Illini throwbacks at the House of 'Paign since February of 2024?? Unacceptable!
Maybe this has something to do with effectively retiring the navy "road" uniform, which makes the orange seem less like an alternate? No idea, but it's a lame trend if you ask me!
I am not on PTO so I didn't read the whole post lol, but the thing I noticed is that every season, we've worn defaults in >50% of our games. Which gives credence to the theory that there is some contractual obligation to wear Nike's default design for the majority of our games.Well, calling all uniform nerds! I have had this impression that we have been (unfortunately) moving more and more toward the default 1LL1NO1S uniforms lately, and I wanted to take a look to see if I was actually correct ... enjoy my massive-waste-of-time count of our uniforms worn by season since the 2019-20 season when we got back on track. First by season (and yes, I am on PTO today
2019-20
White Default: 7 times
Script Throwback: 6 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Orange Default: 6 times
Navy Default: 6 times
2020-21
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 7 times
White Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2021-22
Script Throwback: 10 times
Orange Default: 9 times
White Default: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
2022-23
White Default: 10 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2023-24
White Default: 13 times
Script Throwback: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 7 times
Orange Default: 7 times
Navy Default: 2 times
2024-25
White Default: 12 times
Orange Default: 9 times
Script Throwback: 8 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback: 6 times
Navy Default: 0 times
... then by uniform:
Script Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 10 times
2022-23: 8 times
2023-24: 9 times
2024-25: 9 times
Flyin' Illini Throwback
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 6 times
2021-22: 6 times
2022-23: 6 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 6 times
White 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 7 times
2020-21: 7 times
2021-22: 8 times
2022-23: 10 times
2023-24: 13 times
2024-25: 12 times
Orange 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 9 times
2021-22: 9 times
2022-23: 7 times
2023-24: 7 times
2024-25: 9 times
Navy 1LL1NO1S Default
2019-20: 6 times
2020-21: 2 times
2021-22: 0 times
2022-23: 2 times
2023-24: 2 times
2024-25: 0 times
Overall Throwback / Default Split
2019-20: 12 throwback / 19 default
2020-21: 13 throwback / 18 default
2021-22: 16 throwback / 17 default
2022-23: 14 throwback / 19 default
2023-24: 16 throwback / 22 default
2024-25: 14 throwback / 21 default
So other than the Navy Default suffering a staggering fall from grace, there hasn't been that much of a pattern. However, it's worth noting two things about the first and last year in this list:
(1) For the 2019-20 season, we did not have the Script option until the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game vs. Miami (FL) on December 2. So, we played 7 games without the Script as an option, FWIW.
(2) Last year had a more typical distribution until the Duke MSG loss. After that game, we wore our default white or orange uniform in 7 out of 8 games (the lone exception being wearing the Script Throwback for our victory vs. Xavier in the NCAAT First Round) ... that might be where part of my perception is coming from!
So having already wasted all this time, I wanted to see if there was any noticeable pattern for "big games," if not for total games. After all, we very often wear the default jerseys at home for those early season cupcake games anyway, so it kind of skews the total. I had to have a subjective cutoff somewhere, so a "big game" is (A) vs. a top 25 team, (B) Braggin' Rights or (C) postseason play like the BTT or NCAAT.
"Big Games" Only by Season
2019-20
Navy Default at #3 Maryland
Navy Default at #18 Iowa
Navy Default at #19 Ohio State
Orange Default vs. #5 Michigan
Orange Default at #9 Penn State
Orange Default vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Script vs. #9 Maryland
Flyin' Illini at #14 Michigan State
White Default vs. #18 Iowa
2020-21
Script vs. Loyola in NCAAT Second Round
Script vs. Drexel in NCAAT First Round
Script vs. #9 OSU in BTT Championship (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #5 Iowa in BTT Semifinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #19 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Ohio State
Orange Default at #7 Ohio State
Orange Default at #10 Duke
Orange Default at #23 Wisconsin
Orange Default at Missouri
Flyin' Illini at #2 Michigan
Flyin' Illini vs. #7 Iowa
Navy Default vs. #2 Baylor (Indianapolis, IN)
Navy Default at #19 Rutgers
White Default vs. Rutgers in BTT (Indianapolis, IN)
2021-22
Script vs. Chattanooga in NCAAT First Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
Script vs. Indiana in BTT First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
Script vs. #4 Purdue
Script vs. #11 Arizona
Script vs. #24 Iowa
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default at #3 Purdue
Orange Default at #19 Michigan State
Orange Default vs. #22 Ohio State
White Default vs. #10 Michigan State
White Default vs. #11 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #15 Houston in NCAAT Second Round (Pittsburgh, PA)
2022-23
Script vs. #14 Wisconsin
Script vs. #21 Northwestern
Script vs. #24 Rutgers
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Flyin' Illini vs. Arkansas in NCAAT First Round (Des Moines, IA)
Flyin' Illini vs. #2 Texas
Flyin' Illini at #14 Indiana
Orange Default at #5 Purdue
Orange Default vs. #8 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV)
Orange Default vs. #16 Virginia (Las Vegas, NV)
White Default vs. Penn State in BTT First Round (Chicago, IL)
White Default at #22 Maryland
2023-24
Script vs. Wisconsin in BTT Championship (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. Nebraska in BTT Semifinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Script vs. #3 Purdue
Script vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Orange Default vs. #1 UConn in NCAAT Elite Eight (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Iowa State in NCAAT Sweet Sixteen (Boston, MA)
Orange Default vs. #4 Marquette
White Default vs. Duquesne in NCAAT Second Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Morehead State in NCAAT First Round (Omaha, NE)
White Default vs. Ohio State in BTT Quarterfinals (Minneapolis, MN)
Flyin' Illini at #1 Purdue
Flyin' Illini at #17 Tennessee
2024-25
Orange Default vs. #18 Kentucky in NCAAT Second Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Orange Default vs. #11 Maryland in BTT Quarterfinals (Indianapolis, IN)
Orange Default vs. #8 Alabama (Birmingham, AL)
Orange Default at #11 Wisconsin
Orange Default at #12 Michigan State
Script vs. Xavier in NCAAT First Round (Milwaukee, WI)
Script vs. #1 Tennessee
Script vs. #11 Michigan State
Script vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
White Default vs. Iowa in BTT Second Round (Indianapolis, IN)
White Default at #15 Michigan
White Default vs. #18 Purdue
White Default vs. #20 Wisconsin
Flyin' Illini vs. #3 Duke (New York, NY)
Flyin' Illini at #9 Oregon
Flyin' Illini vs. #19 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO)
So especially if you didn't count Braggin' Rights (where we seem to have settled into wearing Script every year?), there has definitely been a decided shift toward wearing the default uniforms a lot more in big games, especially postseason play. From 2019-20 through the 2023-24 Big Ten Tournament run, we wore one of our throwbacks in all 6 NCAA Tournament games and 11 out of 14 postseason games. Since the start of the 2024 NCAA Tournament when we made a HARD shift toward the default uniforms, we have worn a throwback in just 1 out of 8 postseason games (the aforementioned Xavier win).
I can live with the reality that we might have some boneheaded clause that forces us to wear the 1LL1NO1S defaults a certain amount of the time (the distribution in those years certainly suggests something like that if you ask me...), but man ... I at least want us wearing one of those beautiful throwbacks on the brightest and biggest stages!!
P.S. Another weird trend I noticed is that we are wearing orange at home less often each year, especially compared to past decades. I feel like for the vast majority of the last 30+ years, the orange uniform functioned as a true "alternate" - teams like the 2005 squad wore it at home regularly. However...
Home Games in Orange Uniform
2019-20: 5 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2020-21: 4 times (3 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2021-22: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2022-23: 3 times (1 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
2023-24: 3 times (2 Flyin' Illini, 1 Orange Default)
2024-25: 2 times (0 Flyin' Illini, 2 Orange Default)
Zero times seeing the orange Flyin' Illini throwbacks at the House of 'Paign since February of 2024?? Unacceptable!
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
I would go a step further and state outright that they suck, and not worthy of the Illinois brand . . . but that's just me. I don't always align with @Fighter of the Nightman on a lot of his visions for uniforms and Memorial Stadium, but MAN, we are brothers from another mother on this!
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
One time, at band camp . . . put the flute down.
hooraybeer
- Peoria, IL
defaults are so terrible 
sad that no one in charge seems to care
sad that no one in charge seems to care
defaults are so terrible
Perhaps home crowds should start a new chant:
ONE - L - L!
ONE - N - ONE!
LadyLoyalty
- Indian Wells, CA
The new practice shorts are so much better than the tired standard game uni. The simple o&b design would look great with an Illinois script top. Just sayin’
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
At this point, I think someone in the DIA that Brad has like a 7-year beef with mentioned that the 1LL1NO1S uniforms suck to Brad once while he was in a bad mood, and out of eternal spite for that guy he is "actively" not caring about the uniforms, which actually means he IS caring by blocking all of our dreams of an infuriatingly obvious solution.
- Status