Nike Continues to Pump Out New Uniforms for Schools

Every athlete has heard the phrase “Let your play do the talkin’” at one point or another in his or her career. We’ve always been told not to worry about things like what number we wear or how expensive of equipment we use because, in the end, it’s your effort and hard work that will determine the wins and losses. However, with all the changes in uniforms that are happening in college basketball nowadays, I’m starting to wonder if athletes SHOULD care what they look like on the court.

With Nike always coming out with new designs for uniforms, teams can pretty much have new uniforms every single year. I thought that the Elite uniforms that now have the pattern on the back surrounding the number are a little flashy. All the same, they’re something new and the patterns are unique to each school. I can handle those. What I’m having trouble with is Nike’s sudden belief that every major school should wear grey.

Georgetown has always had grey uniforms dating back to the Patrick Ewing days. Grey is a uniform color that is original to that particular school and is clearly one of the school’s main colors. Another school that’s been wearing grey longer than other schools would be Ohio State. Like Georgetown, grey is clearly a school color of the Buckeyes. They have grey helmets and matching pants in football; it is clearly an accent color in the logo. Its teams like North Carolina and Arizona that have no reason to wear grey that I’m not a fan of, especially if your programs have a great amount of tradition behind them. Look at schools like Indiana and UCLA that haven’t gotten caught up in the new fad of flashy uniforms. Both schools have enjoyed recent success (UCLA’s dating back to the Kevin Love days) and have done it with the same uniform design as guys like Isiah Thomas and Bill Walton wore.

I feel like Nike is beginning to have too much influence on schools and it’s become obvious that it’s always about the money. Do I think this year’s uniforms are cool and good-looking? Yes, to an extent. However, I think there’s something to be said about having an appreciation for the players of the past. That’s why I love Indiana’s and UCLA’s uniforms. I’m not a fan of Nike suddenly giving schools grey uniforms because it’s clearly only for show. It’s cool to see schools have uniforms that they can call their own. If every team starts to dress like each other it won’t be the same. Ultimately, I’m just a kid in a suburb of Chicago, but if I had any say in this matter, I’d definitely put a stop to the constant uniform changes.