Flashy Uniforms in College Football
In an article in the Washington Post, Dave Sheinin addresses the new fad in college football- outrageous and over the top uniforms designed by big time sports apparel companies like Nike and Under Armor. Prime examples include the Under Armor uniforms worn by the University of Maryland in their game against Miami and the Nike Pro-Combat uniforms worn by theUniversity of Georgia when they played Boise State in the Georgia Dome. Although the uniforms themselves received mixed review from fashion critics, they serve to benefit both the teams that wear them and the companies that produce them. The teams benefit in the fact that recruits are more interested in what the team is wearing and a cool uniform will draw them to the school. As for the companies, exposure from high profile teams boosts their sales.
Critics of this new trend include fans and alumni who support the traditional uniforms worn by their respective universities. But, despite what critics may say, the system works and more and more schools are starting to catch on. Going back to the late 90’s, the University of Oregon may have been the first school to note the importance of uniforms in college football. Having co-founder of Nike and Oregon alumnus Phil Knight design their flashy uniforms, the Ducks began attracting better athletes and saw themselves in the national championship game in 2010. This same process is being echoed at Maryland where they have ties to former Terp and Under Armor founder Kevin Plank. If there continues to be a link between uniform and success, more schools will adopt this trend and who knows what type of uniforms we will see in the future.
By giving the opinions of various people in the college football world, Sheinin does a good job of completely covering the topic. There are many individual thoughts on what should and shouldn’t be done when it comes to uniforms and everyone wants to share theirs. As the season continues there is sure to be just as much attention on what a team is wearing as there is on their performance on the field.
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College Sports and the Media 
The debate over flashy uniforms has been very interesting as of late. Though they may seem absurd at times, they bring many positive things to a football team. Taking the example of Oregon, maybe the uniforms have brought about their success. They have attracted much attention from many recruits possibly because everyone sees these “flashy” uniforms and want to be part of that. It also builds a lot of hype for the team and the fans. We all remember how excited we were when hearing about UGA’s Nike Pro Combat uniforms. It caused a great deal of excitement leading up to the game and at the game. As much as keeping the traditional uniforms means so much to various schools, it does bring a different aspect to the game when the “flashy” uniforms are revealed.