KU with 5 new helmets

Rhoadhoused

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Apr 27, 2010
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"Trying to build an identity"

Perhaps we could do that by winning.

Just look at Oregon. They change uniforms every game, and they are one of the most identifiable programs in the country.

Hard to build an identity when your uniform looks like those of a more successful program. Changing ISU's wardrobe here and there for special games couldn't possibly hurt ISU.

And on a some what related note, I preferred the cardinal bottoms for away games than the white pants.

Kansas' uniforms in our game last season looked pretty sharp in person.

I liked the cardinal bottoms more as well.

And I think those black unis would have had a better chance if everyone wasn't wearing blue under them.
 

jbhtexas

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It is impossible to prove things that you are asking.

Exactly. So when you are a team with the second lowest AD budget in your conference, the last thing you need to be doing is throwing away your precious budget on things that cannot be shown to have any positive impact on winning, when there are other things known to improve wining that you could spend your money on.

KU's AD budget is $20,000,000+ greater than ISUs. They have some leeway for this kind of stuff...
 
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Cyclonin

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I actually think their helmet with just KU is pretty decent. I agree, we need some alternates.

Completely agree. The blue helmets with just KU were pretty slick, IMO.
3407501170_33823c46fe_o.jpg
 

tm3308

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"Trying to build an identity"

Perhaps we could do that by winning.

Just look at Oregon. They change uniforms every game, and they are one of the most identifiable programs in the country.

Hard to build an identity when your uniform looks like those of a more successful program. Changing ISU's wardrobe here and there for special games couldn't possibly hurt ISU.

And on a some what related note, I preferred the cardinal bottoms for away games than the white pants.

Kansas' uniforms in our game last season looked pretty sharp in person.

Oregon is an exception, as I already said. They also have ******* NIKE funding their every move, and they aren't exactly clean in recruiting. The uniforms are far from the only (and IMO, they're a long ways from the main reason) reason Oregon is attractive to recruits.

Most teams that can't settle on a uniform are looking for some kind of identity instead of simply winning. ISU doesn't need another uniform overhaul.
 

Rhoadhoused

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Exactly. So when you are a team with the second lowest AD budget in your conference, the last thing you need to be doing is throwing away your precious budget on things that cannot be shown to have any positive impact on winning, when there are other things known to improve wining that you could spend your money on.

KU's AD budget is $20,000,000+ greater than ISUs. They have to leeway for this kind of stuff...

It is not a budget issue in any way.

Also, any thoughts on the proof that has been provided for you? I did my best and another poster added some solid stuff about Oregon.
 

Cycsk

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I'm kinda upset that Rhoads is turning into Ferentz when it comes to unis. We need to spice things up. Even Iowa spiced a few things up last year with the helmets. COME ON RHOADS! And don't tell me Iowa State can't afford it. If Rhoads really wanted it, he can get it.


Iowa's uniforms and helmets against us last year looked awful.
 

Cyclonin

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It is not a budget issue in any way.

Also, any thoughts on the proof that has been provided for you? I did my best and another poster added some solid stuff about Oregon.

Yea, not sure why the budget is an issue. With the amounts of money we are talking, I don't think alternate uniforms are breaking the athletic budget. If we are at that point, we have some bigger issues.

There are schools that are your traditional, iconic football schools. ISU isn't one of them. How does ISU get good publicity off the field of play? New/Flashy/Alternate Uni's is an easy way.
 

tm3308

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It is not a budget issue in any way.

Also, any thoughts on the proof that has been provided for you? I did my best and another poster added some solid stuff about Oregon.

Even SEC guys (usually) aren't stupid enough to come out and say they're getting illegal benefits. Like I said, Oregon recruits have a lot more going for them than flashy uniforms.
 

Rhoadhoused

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Paying for 3 head football coaches at the same time has to be taking a nice chunk out of that advantage.

Plus our football budget is almost identical. I guess it is all the same pool but some of those funds may be reserved for bball.

Anyway, it is a moot point because we probably spend the same amount on athletic tape every year as one new set of helmets would cost.
 

Rhoadhoused

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Does Nike supply the alternates at no extra cost?



tm3308 addressed it nicely.

So to combat my assertion that Oregon built their program around changing jerseys and being a cool option for recruits, you asked me for proof.

Then you say that they simply pay players to get better with no proof. Ok.

Even if they did pay players, the jerseys certainly helped even more. Not many programs have made the rise they have even paying players.
 

ExCyment

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Iowa State needs to have alternates available to keep up with other schools.

Honestly, we should have been one of the first teams on the bandwagon, it could have been something we could gain an advantage with. Now we are behind the 8 ball.

Recruits absolutely love alternates and different helmets. It doesn't even have to be crazy, just different options.


I doubt recruits really put too much into this. Schools that have lost their way and are searching for an identity do this, see Nebraska. All those helmets are hideous except the blue one. A throw back design based off the uniform Jack Trice wore would make sense, but not all this trendy garbage.
 

Rhoadhoused

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I doubt recruits really put too much into this. Schools that have lost their way and are searching for an identity do this, see Nebraska. All those helmets are hideous except the blue one. A throw back design based off the uniform Jack Trice wore would make sense, but not all this trendy garbage.

I truly think you couldn't be more wrong. Kids care about that stuff whether it makes sense to us or not.

I don't care if we have alternates. I truly don't. It could be cool if we do them right to have one different game a year, but I really don't care. I just don't want us be behind in anything recruiting wise. Right now the only schools in the Big 12 without an alternate helmet are ISU, OU, and UT. One of these things is not like the other. Every other school in the Big 12 has multiple looks. Our last alternate uniform game was two and a half calendar years ago.
 

jbhtexas

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So to combat my assertion that Oregon built their program around changing jerseys and being a cool option for recruits, you asked me for proof.

Then you say that they simply pay players to get better with no proof. Ok.

The radical uniforms changes started at Oregon with the 1999 season according to Wikipedia. In the ten years prior to that, Oregon went to bowls 7 times, including a Rose Bowl/Pac-10 championship in 1994. Oregon's program was "built" and well on its way long before they started fooling around with their uniforms. To assert that Oregon's program success was built around having alternate/radical uniforms is not supported by the program's success prior to the uniform changes.
 

Rhoadhoused

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The radical uniforms changes started at Oregon with the 1999 season according to Wikipedia. In the ten years prior to that, Oregon went to bowls 7 times, including a Rose Bowl/Pac-10 championship in 1994. Oregon's program was "built" and well on its way long before they started fooling around with their uniforms. To assert that Oregon's program was built around having alternate/radical uniforms is not supported by the program's success prior to the uniform changes.

And how long have they been paying players like you have asserted? And how many top ten finishes did they have before 1999 as opposed to after? How many title game appearance? What about W/L record? They are recruiting top tier athletes by being in vogue and cool and their own players are admitting it and you haven't even addressed that in any way even after you asked specifically to see it.


"I've always said if Oregon would have offered me (a scholarship), it would have been a tough thing to turn them down just for the uniforms," ASU defensive back Omar Bolden says. "And I hate cold weather." He proves the point that while some find Oregon's style excessive and borderline hideous, the players love the duds.

Bolden predicts 80 percent of the Ducks play there because they were drawn by the uniforms. "I think there is a proven correlation in interest in recruiting and visual images kids see on TV that they think is cool," Bellotti says. "Our kids said we only get to play one game a week and it is nice to have options on how we dress. Interchangeable jerseys, different colors, adding black, strong colors, that all resonates with youth."

"Nike is the elite in sports apparel and having the ability to work with them and give feedback, while also helping with uniform design is a big deal to a teenage kid,” Colvin said. “Michigan and USC both had a lot to offer and had more tradition, but Oregon was the up-and-comer with something no one else had. I knew I couldn't go wrong with choosing to commit to Oregon.”

Oregon used fancy uniforms to enhance their program and create something that nobody else had. They created an advantage. And now we are creating a disadvantage and a larger gap between us and our peers that we are competing against by refusing to add absolutely any variety.
 
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Clonefan94

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Because that is such an easy thing to identify and pinpoint...

No recruit is going to tell someone that they picked a school because of the uniforms, but it is certainly a way to grab their attention or make them view ISU in a better light. You are absolutely insane or incredibly naive if you think kids don't care. Oregon built an entire program out if it.

I'm not saying go crazy and have mirror helmets or have blue jerseys or anything, but dear god another color helmet and maybe a little more of a modern alternate just to have it at the very least.

Why not? I'd gladly tell a college that they lost me because their uniforms weren't flashy enough, if it were the truth. Just like I've told employers, "Hey, it wasn't you, it was the lack of money that made me go elsewhere." If this were a big deal, if the coaches perceived this as a problem, which i don't believe it is, we'd have no problem getting our Flat black and chrome uniforms, diamond plate socks, with a white helmet alternate uniforms. Honestly, if a recruit chooses his school based on uniform, then **** him, I don't want that idiot playing for ISU.