In general I like the traditional uniforms and helmets more than I do the gimmick's. But I guess in today's world sometimes the new uniforms and helmets mean something to the younger people.

The multiple uniforms are an example of why schools have money to burn. How much does it cost for Virginia Tech to have 6 different helmets during a year?

The appeal of the uniforms are why schools like Nebraska and Notre Dame are adding alternates. Even Penn State was considering a special uniform.

Oregon, Miami, Baylor, etc... are benefiting. We will see if under-armour can make Maryland more appealing.

by definition a "gimmick" is a trick to get people's attention....but if the student athletes like wearing these alternate uniforms is it really a gimmick? Maybe the players just think it's cool.

I have young kids (tweens) and they love alternating neon socks, etc. I don't see it as a "gimmick", I see it as something they think is cool and is popular at school. I put the alternate uniforms in a similar boat.

Personally, I look forward to UC's alternate helmets each year, etc. It's fun to me. Some of them have been awful and some of them have been really cool. We always hear the players love them so what's the problem.

Look, if you are some stodgy traditionalist, fine, but it doesn't make sense to call something a "gimmick" if the players on the team like them.

imo

Watch the 2013 Miami Redhawks, new uniforms didn't do s**t. Then again, I think they appeal to recruits, so maybe we see some positive effects down the road as high schoolers are influenced subconsciously by new unis.

(05-23-2014 02:58 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  We have had quite a few uniform threads. Since the topic came up again today I thought I would post another thread.

We were discussing the new NC State alternate helmets.

My nephew operates a facility that caters to youth sports - batting cages, pitching instruction, etc. He stated that it is all "the kids" talk about. The wilder the uniform, helmet, shoe, color or graphics, the more they like it.

I don't know if a kid would choose one school over another because of the uniform but they are talking about one instead of the other because of the uniform.

Jesus those are terrible helmets. Are they using these as the alternate jersey

I think it is a confluence of multiple things.

1. Oregon historically has been more uniform flexible than the typical school. Way back in the ancient days of my youth what little we saw of them on TV had us wondering why they were mixing and matching yellow, green, and white so randomly.
2. Phil Knight steps up to the plate and amps up what was already a Duck tradition.
3. Oregon moves from and up down program to an up program, dissecting why they became good the answer came from Nike. "It's gotta be the shoes uniforms."
4. Sales reps playing to the innate paranoia of coaches told them kids love the varied uniforms and then told AD's it will freshen up your brand and generate more sales and brand awareness, even though any AD or associate AD for marketing worth their salt would understand it actually causes brand confusion outside of your loyal customer. That doesn't mean the value in recruiting or marketing to your base isn't worth it, but on a national scale it hurts the brand unless you are Oregon where the brand is now "What are they wearing this week". Not everyone can be that team.
5. I believe the value in recruiting is over-stated. Recruiting is always going to come down to whether the kid likes the people recruiting him, how he felt about the campus visit, and other issues like proximity, historic success, peer perception of the school, recent history of the program. The uniforms are a small ancillary issue. The value to recruiting is based on the highly suspect data obtained by my peers at Scout as well as the folks at Rivals and 24/7 who ask deep questions like, what did you think of campus, do you like the coaches, what do you think of the uniforms. I don't for a minute doubt that players are caught up in the multi uniform fad, I just highly doubt it is swaying many signings.
6. The fad will reach saturation point soon, that will mean less mention on mainstream media outlets and less mention in blogs. Recently read that a study found men with at least a partial beard were deemed more sexy by women a few years ago, now that more men are sporting facial hair the "sexy level" is falling because it is more common. The multi-uniform trend will follow a similar path, right now it still stands out some, but not like three years ago. Once it is more established it becomes commonplace and of no interest.