the whole apparel aspect of this, nike or otherwise, has a lot to do with the colors. the color of gold that would look best on helmets or pants or whatever may be achievable on the field but the result for consumers wouldnt be anywhere close because it would basically get rounded down to the closest 'gold' and would litter the crowd with even more evident brand confusion. gold is definitely the hardest to match and has the fewest options in the apparel world. even though they all have different official colors, youll see the same gold shirt for wichita state, notre dame, mizzou, west virginia, etc. grey/silver is the same way but nobody notices because its easier to blend in and look good regardless. kstates official grey/silver is actually a metallic pantone ink color which obviously doesnt work/isnt achievable on 99% of applications.
unfortunately, the further iowa state strays from what colors are common, the more we will hurt ourselves. even when schools try to distance themselves by focusing on their red/cardinal/scarlet color, theres only so many options out there and iowa state isnt going to get someone like nike to make isu-specific decisions the way the do for, say, texas. theres plenty of iowa state apparel out there that looks more like they sewed our logo on something made for minnesota or south carolina or alabama etc. because they split the difference in all the colors.
white or black or grey are not legitimate options as true 'secondary' colors; we cannot take the field in cardinal/white or gold/white or cardinal/grey and expect that to help (or make sense). oklahoma doesnt have options...texas doesnt have options...michigan doesnt have options...notre dame throws green in there because theyre irish. plenty of schools have virtually the same colors, thats why its important to set yourself apart with a unique look. we currently do not have a unique look.
