The Arizona Wildcats’ new football uniforms have been revealed. If nothing else, they should end complaints about the numbers being difficult to read.
The latest set of UA uniforms from Nike features larger, bolder numbers, new stripes atop the shoulders and a matte-blue helmet with a red-and-blue Block A. The new-look Block A — sans white — appears in several places on the new uniforms. It’s the first major change to the “A” since 1990, when the modern logo replaced its all-red predecessor. The Wildcats wore a silver A on a white helmet for one game in 2014, but that look was a one-off.
Three sets of jerseys were unveiled Tuesday — blue with red numbers, red with blue numbers and white with blue numbers. All feature the new stripes on the shoulders. None have the gradient look that has been unpopular with many fans since 2013, when the Wildcats introduced color-fading stripes on both the jersey numbers and shoulder stripes. NCAA rules forced the Wildcats to change to solid-color numbers on their home jerseys a year later; they were allowed to keep the gradient look on the road.
Arizona will continue to choose between red, white and blue jerseys; red, white and blue pants and four different helmet colors: red, red chrome, white and matte blue. The words “Hard Edge” still appear on the nose bumper, with a script “Arizona” on the rear back of the helmets. The matte-blue helmet will feature the all-red “A,” while the logos on the other three will remain mostly unchanged.
As is always the case, uniforms generate a wide range of reactions from fans. A Star Twitter poll posted on Tuesday reflected their mixed results: 13 percent called the uniforms a “huge upgrade,” while 46 percent categorized them as “good but not great.” Roughly 13 percent of respondents were unimpressed, and 28 percent said the uniforms are “not what I was hoping for.”
“Isn’t anything better than the last uniforms?” reader Brett Berry tweeted. “I like the matte helmets.”
Another reader, Eric Townsend, wondered on Twitter if the UA could “incinerate” the new gear.
Uniform changes are fairly common in college sports — and football in particular. Utah unveiled a new, Under Armour-sponsored look a few weeks ago, and both Cal and UCLA will follow suit in the coming weeks. Arizona State’s Adidas gear is tweaked seemingly by the season, though last year’s directive that the team stick to maroon and gold may change things.
Even the tradition-laden programs of Stanford and Washington have unveiled new Nike uniforms in recent years.
Speaking of tradition, the UA men’s basketball team unveiled new Nike jerseys and shorts last season to mixed reviews. Purists disliked the gradient pattern and color options.
The UA baseball team went a more traditional route when it redesigned its uniforms last winter.
The Wildcats open their football season Sept. 2 with a home game against Northern Arizona.
