CAMPBELL: Complete uniform/image overhaul coming

[cyclones500]

If Campbell was mainly talking about merchandizing in reference to black, I have no problem with it. I'm almost-anything-goes with products.

We have dozens of options for colors and logos and history choices and historic player uniform replicas. Go to a game at Trice, you see anything and everything.

I have two coffee cups I've used for years, both white, one has the DannyMac Swirly-Cy, the other has Criner-era cursive-tornado logo.

My favorite game-day T-shirt is throwback to common '70s design: gold-on-cardinal, with stacked lettering:
IOWA
STATE

Many other examples I could use — I-State logo on gray and gear with various shades of cardinal (dark-medium-bright).

Incorporating black into uniform options requires treading more carefully.

 

[Yellow Snow]

You are of course right. I do want to go the BCS next year! If they will look good (or not too great, in their underwear, I mean, whatever the uniform of the day is, and win, great.

I'm not bashing you, at all. I actually agree. But of course we can have sharp unis too.

@t-noah This seems to be the disconnect right there. What you and I think are sharp unis may not be the same for 17/18 year old guys. I love some of your mock ups, as well as @amestoplease .

Do I want black uniforms... no. BUT you have to think like an 18 year old.. which i can't do since i'm 46.

I'm an engineer, so by definition i really don't put fashion high on my priority list.. hehe. So maybe it is easier for me to just roll with whatever the unis look like. I don't know.

I guess my point is this... I really feel that we should give the coach free reign on what he thinks he needs to get an edge in recruiting. If it is ugly unis as you and I see it? I don't care. We need to let the guy do what he feels he needs to do to win. We need to win. Ugly unis or not.

BTW - my favorite ISU uniform was 1978

 

[bringmagicback]

all this talk of 'if this is what it takes to win, i dont care what our jerseys look like' is plain sad. if i were a big time recruit and a coach was trying to win me over by telling me theyd abandon school colors for me, i would question how a school could slap tradition in the face like that. sure it would be awesome to see iowa state win a national championship, but if they won in black uniforms or something ridiculous, i would chalk that up as a missed opportunity. CMC shouldnt have that kind of power, especially this early on. i cant imagine selling a kid on the pride of iowa state and the cardinal & gold, only to have him turn on the tv and see the indecipherably fugly dark grey bush league garbage we pulled last year. if thats the best you can do last-minute to change up our look, whatever. but if CMC is making a conscious decision in advance to move things in this AC/DC direction, thats unfortunate.

this is a really dumb post. First of all, nobody says that to win we need different jerseys. Thats dumb. Youre not a big time recruit and no coach would ever say hey sign with us and we will abandon school colors for you. THat wouldnt make any sense. So that is dumb. The fact that you think winning a national championship in an alt uniform (which wouldnt happen on multiple levels) would be cheapened then you are dumb. If you dont realize that CMC is not single handily out there designing uniforms you are really dumb.

 

[bringmagicback]

im all about changing it up, i get it. in fact, i love it, which is why ive posted about 50 different uniform concepts on here. i know that these things have an impact on recruits, its real. but if black isnt your school color and you come out in black helmets and black jerseys, that to me is abandoning your school colors. it seems pretty well-accepted that having cool new uniforms makes a difference to these kids, but ive yet to read anything claiming that metallic/black unis is the only way accomplish this or that it increases your chances of getting them by putting on a metallic/black uni in front of them. youre also implying that changing the uniforms affects the outcome of the game. on that one, we will never know the answer, but i would like to think that this program could win just as many games while maintaining the prominence of cardinal and gold.

you honestly sound like a middle school girl. stop posting so dramatically ffs. Youre constantly crying about clothing...think about that for a bit.

 

[bringmagicback]

Well at least both of those teams have clearly recognizable logos on those helmets so people watching at home know who it playing without moving their eyes to the bottom or top of the screen to see the score.

no kidding! i watched that game for 3 hours and never knew who the heck was playing because the logo wasnt clearly legible the entire time. Still no clue who they are becasue Im a complete moron and need a helmet logo to know who is playing the game Im watching. Not just a logo, but a clearly legible logo that has been in use for no less than 50 years!.

 

[t-noah]

@t-noah This seems to be the disconnect right there. What you and I think are sharp unis may not be the same for 17/18 year old guys. I love some of your mock ups, as well as @amestoplease .

Do I want black uniforms... no. BUT you have to think like an 18 year old.. which i can't do since i'm 46.

I'm an engineer, so by definition i really don't put fashion high on my priority list.. hehe. So maybe it is easier for me to just roll with whatever the unis look like. I don't know.

I guess my point is this... I really feel that we should give the coach free reign on what he thinks he needs to get an edge in recruiting. If it is ugly unis as you and I see it? I don't care. We need to let the guy do what he feels he needs to do to win. We need to win. Ugly unis or not.

BTW - my favorite ISU uniform was 1978

Well, see that's the problem right there, engineer, sheesh. We could use a few less of them (not really). You are too analytical, left brained, form before function, etc, etc., not enough imagination (kidding)!

No, I get it, your post, and think your points are valid. But, we are kind of in a parallel universe/reality here at CF. I feel we are not putting any pressure on Coach Campbell, or ISU in terms of uniform design, because they are not likely listening to us anyway. They are in another parallel universe, and are not listening to us over here on CF, for the most part. He is going to do what he and his staff thinks best, under the criteria allowed. But you're right, we all want to win, god knows our fans deserve it.

So we have a bunch of fans, us, sharing ideas, speculating, and just doing something we are interested in. I am interested in ISU, and its ultimate success. Some of us who spend time thinking about such things, as uniforms, designs, logos, certainly hope that the higher-ups 'might' be listening.

 

[el tornado]

more and more teams have a black or gray alternative jersey... nothing wrong with it at all and the players love it.

 

[cyclones500]

more and more teams have a black or gray alternative jersey... the players love it.

As for the first point (black/gray), who's to say that trend won't wane? Then what?

Re: "The players love it." Why do people assume this is the case, as if it's been proven by exhaustive research? Some players probably do, some might not care.

I've been a purist oldie who resisted too much alternative nonsense, but I've gone more with the flow in the past few years. (Even that fad could run its course, for all we know). The black/gray stuff — why even have school colors?

 

[Hayes30]

As for the first point (black/gray), who's to say that trend won't wane? Then what?

Re: "The players love it." Why do people assume this is the case, as if it's been proven by exhaustive research? Some players probably do, some might not care.

I've been a purist oldie who resisted too much alternative nonsense, but I've gone more with the flow in the past few years. (Even that fad could run its course, for all we know). The black/gray stuff — why even have school colors?

They said all our players last season went absolutely insane when they seen the dark jerseys last year. That's a good enough reason for me to think the kids love them.

 

[cyclones500]

They said all our players last season went absolutely insane when they seen the dark jerseys last year. That's a good enough reason for me to think the kids love them.

I understand that. Every uniform-reveal I've seen in past few years, for various schools, the players go ****-bonkers. Young people like new stuff and surprises.

We're in a different era, when uniform-expense and design isn't as limited as it once was (backed by apparel companies & $$ contracts). Does it count only if black is used?

 

[CyValley]

CMC shouldnt have that kind of power, especially this early on.

Within the range of NCAA rules, I vote CMC have the full range of power to do as he thinks best. No restraints. He's charged with the responsibility to win, handcuffs are not part of that equation.

 

[RedDog]

It's been a good 118 year run on cardinal and gold, let's go back to black and silver for a century or so.

 

[Stormin]

I like the alternative uniforms and think the gray/black uniforms are kind of cool. Use them occasionally.

Alternative uniforms also serve to merchandise our brand. I actually like our I-State Logo. It is not confusing as to who we are. WE are the ONLY I-State Power 5 Conference school. I-State belongs to Iowa State. STATE is what differentiates us from Iowa, that other school east of us.

I also have no problem with using the secondary logos of Cy and the Twister symbol on things. Mix things up and bring back some retro. Merchandise it and sell it. And remember that every shirt and coat and hat is a walking, talking billboard promoting Iowa State.

 

[beentherebefore]

Gray, white, cardinal, gold. I-State, Cy, tornado. All are OK to me. It is 2017 and not 1978. None of us will really care that much about any of this if we win and the recruits continue to get better and better.

 

[Frak]

I do. We have changed our symbol umpteen times. Stay with the I-State symbol and we will get some continuity with our identity. The A centers on the Big I. And IA happens to be the abbreviation for Iowa. Point that out repeatedly for those thinking Illinois State or Indiana State. The Funnel is recognized by Cyclone fans only for the most part. There is a reason why it was scrapped. Wasn't working and didn't really catch on.

Consistently use I-State Logo. Maintain some consistency in the Cardinal and Gold Colors going forward. Utilize the Gray uniforms and White Uniforms to mix things up. We need to get consistent identity in our primary logo. Which is why I consistently want that on our helmets. I actually like walking Cy for helmet stickers versus the newer image of Cy's head as our secondary symbol.

I don't mind them changing out helmet logos from time to time. They should probably stick with the block or stencil I-State for most games, but I have no problem with them mixing in the Walking Cy or and updated 80's tornado. Okie State does a good job of using different helmet logos. As long as the I-State remains our primary logo, it shouldn't dilute the brand any.

 

[CYCLNST8]

I don't mind them changing out helmet logos from time to time. They should probably stick with the block or stencil I-State for most games, but I have no problem with them mixing in the Walking Cy or and updated 80's tornado. Okie State does a good job of using different helmet logos. As long as the I-State remains our primary logo, it shouldn't dilute the brand any.

Precisely. The block I-STATE will always be on the 50 yard line. When they list conference logos it will be the block I-STATE. The marching band with have block I-STATE on their uniforms. The cheerleader flags will feature block I-STATE etc.

It doesn't have to be on the helmet at all times, and people don't need to freak out about it.

 

[everyyard]

I'm for whatever colors and uniforms get us the best recruits. Great recruits and the better play they bring will create way more fans than alternate uniforms lose us. We are in a critical time in the next 5-10 years where the product we field and the atmosphere we create may very well have a direct impact on this program's place in the NCAA world going forward. We need to be creative, and be willing to sacrifice what some of us see as tradition for the chance of a continued place at the table going forward. There has NEVER been a more important time to win and win a lot and you do that with good players. All efforts need to be put toward attracting them.

 

[clonedude]

I loved adding the white helmets, and I liked the gray this past year as well. I can buy into the gray being storm clouds or whatever, but I just don't like going with black for some reason.

With that being said, Stanford pulled it off, Northwestern pulls it off well, and UNI has added a lot of black to their look, and I love that look for them too, and nobody makes fun of UNI for now having black and yellow in their uniforms.

So maybe I can be convinced once I see what the look will be? I'm open to it I guess, until I see what it looks like. But now after seeing what UNI has done with the black, maybe we need to keep some cardinal and gold with the black? At least you can still tell it's UNI. If we go with just black and silver, we kinda lose all school identity IMO.

Although ISU started with black and silver, correct?

 

[SolarGarlic]

They said all our players last season went absolutely insane when they seen the dark jerseys last year. That's a good enough reason for me to think the kids love them.

The point is players like new, different jerseys. That doesn't mean it HAS to be black. I'm OK with the gray as it's more neutral than black and fits with the "storm" theme. But black is just so off that it seems to completely discard the school colors. We can still create unique, alternative jerseys that the players will go "absolutely insane" for when they "seen" them. It just rubs me the wrong way because I think it stems from Campbell's Ohio State boner (just a theory). Iowa State is bigger than Campbell.

 

[VeloClone]

I loved adding the white helmets, and I liked the gray this past year as well. I can buy into the gray being storm clouds or whatever, but I just don't like going with black for some reason.

With that being said, Stanford pulled it off, Northwestern pulls it off well, and UNI has added a lot of black to their look, and I love that look for them too, and nobody makes fun of UNI for now having black and yellow in their uniforms.

So maybe I can be convinced once I see what the look will be? I'm open to it I guess, until I see what it looks like. But now after seeing what UNI has done with the black, maybe we need to keep some cardinal and gold with the black? At least you can still tell it's UNI. If we go with just black and silver, we kinda lose all school identity IMO.

Although ISU started with black and silver, correct?

It would be inaccurate to say that UNI just incorporated black out of the blue. They have a history of black going back at least thirty-five years ago when I was in high school and my brother was going there.