Uniforms cause a stir with Legendary College Football Coaches

College football’s opening weekend was filled with plenty of drama and upsets, but one topic of discussion reigned supreme on last Tuesday’s Legends Poll teleconference.

The uniforms?

Georgia rolled into the Georgia Dome on Saturday night in Nike Pro Combat Uniforms, seemingly head to toe in red with a hint of silver in the helmet — a look for Georgia that was far different from its signature red helmet and silver breeches.

“I was embarrassed to see Georgia in those exotic uniforms,” said Pat Dye, former Auburn coach and player at Georgia. “We’re sending a bad message to players and young folks who are watching. Football is about character, poise and confidence, and about being a better person and better citizen. It ain’t about looking wild and crazy.”

Florida State legend Bobby Bowden agrees.

“Dadgummit, I don’t like it,” Bowden said. “I like tradition. It’s going the same route as baseball where free agency changed tradition. And we’re losing our tradition in football, too.”

In recent years, teams like Oregon have started to break from the norm, introducing a new style of uniform with more outlandish designs and combinations in an effort to boost recruiting. And in 2011’s opening weekend, more teams started to follow suit.

“Recruits should care about what kind of education they will get and which coaching staff they will play for,” former USC coach John Robinson said, “not what kind of uniform they will be wearing.”

Georgia wasn’t the only team breaking from tradition over the weekend. Maryland created quite a buzz with its Under Armour “Pride” uniforms on Monday night against Miami.

The outfit created an interesting twist on the Maryland state flag, dividing the uniform in half from the helmet down to the pants.

“(Former Michigan coach) Bo (Schembechler) would be turning over in his grave if he saw those Maryland uniforms,” former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said. “I didn’t even know it was Maryland when they came on TV.”

With the new wave of uniforms, the Legends Coaches say tradition is being tarnished in exchange for money, and in turn, the schools’ brands are being diluted.

“The uniform has to mean something,” said R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M’s all-time winningest coach. “It is the school’s identity. We told our players the name you make for yourself at Texas A&M must mean something, just like the university means something.”

The Legends Coaches say tradition is extremely valuable in college football, and the student athletes would benefit greatly if they had a better understanding of the players and coaches that came before them.

“We’ve been involved in college football a long time,” Slocum said, “and we have good reason to be concerned about the uniforms.”

(Image courtesy of Flickr, The Bad M@ttitude)

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