NCAA - University of Missouri-Columbia

U. of Missouri Unveils New Football Uniforms

Nike re-design offers new-age technology and traditional feel.

U. of Missouri - Black Jerseys

U. of Missouri - White Jerseys

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri football program will take the field with a new look to its fashion in 2005. New uniforms have been designed by Nike, and will be debuted on Sept. 3, when Mizzou takes on Arkansas State in the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

Director of Equipment Operations Don Barnes gave MUTigers.com a sneak peek at the new uniforms today, as seniors Brad Smith and Jason Simpson served as models for a quick photo shoot.

The new uniforms are made of a revolutionary, yet more durable lightweight stretch material that is form-fitting for performance enhancement. The material is moisture management capable, meaning it removes water from the body (sweat or rain for example) and allows it to evaporate. Old knit uniform material previously took that water and absorbed it like a sponge, which meant heavier jerseys by the end of a game - thus more weight carried around by the players.

"Our players will carry around a substantially smaller amount of total weight with them during a game because of this moisture management technology," said Barnes. "The technology is pretty amazing. It's interesting to see now how uniforms have shifted to enhancing performance," he said.

Replicas of the home black and road white jersey tops are now available for purchase at the Tiger Team Store located at the North end of Faurot Field. Fans can also purchase the items on www.mutigers.com, or by calling 1-866-SHOP-4-MU.

In addition to reducing the weight of the jersey and the water wicking technology, other goals set out by Nike with this particular design included improving ventilation, shrink wrapping the player and creating a distinctive visual look.

"There's a lot more mesh on the jersey than in the past, and this helps increase airflow and allows the body heat to escape much better than in the past," said Barnes. "In terms of shrink wrapping the player, the uniforms are more form fitting up top, and that means that there should be fewer grab points for opponents to latch on to," he said.

Of course, what fans care most about the uniforms is the visual appeal, and Barnes feels that the new look, while clearly different than that of what Mizzou has sported in the past, still offers the best of both traditional and new-age feels.

"It's certainly a new look, but it really doesn't stray that much from a traditional feel, either," said Barnes. "We really wanted to preserve our colors more, and it was important to have a stronger gold presence in the uniform, stronger than we've had in the past," he said.

This was accomplished on the black jersey tops by adding gold piping around the collar and keeping gold piping on the sleeves of the jersey, adding a gold stripe on the side of the jersey and down the side of the pants, and increasing the size of the gold numbers. On the white uniforms, gold piping was added to the sleeves of the jersey, along with gold stripes on the side, and a dash of gold at the bottom of the black pant stripe.

Other changes to the look include doing away with the "TV" numbers which had been placed on top of the shoulders in recent years. Barnes feels that eliminating this number helps give the uniform a less cluttered, and cleaner look. He also added that the new numbers on both the front and back are going to be easier for fans to see than in the past. The small "Missouri" font on the front of the jersey just above the number was also enlarged slightly and changed to "Mizzou." The oval Tiger logo will remain on the front of the pants and will replace the previous Tiger head logo on the side of the jersey sleeves.

If Smith and Simpson are any indication, the current Tigers are huge fans of the new uniforms.

"These are really nice," said Simpson. "They feel completely different than the old unis, they're so light and breathable. I think the white ones look really good," he said.

"I like these a lot," said Smith. "They have a good feel to it, and it sounds like it's pretty cool technology how they stay a lot lighter throughout a game when you sweat. I like the fashion aspect of it and the practical side of how they feel and work," he said.

This article was taken from www.mutigers.com.  All rights reserved.