Uniforms are the least of our problems.

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

I agree. And to build a brand.

That said, unlike our previous ones that were drab indistinguishable white kits, like everyone else in CFB, we finally have a gray kit.

So yes, ideally less changing, although I support this one as gray is our color and it's a whole lot better than boring copycat whites.

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

The kids like it. Their opinion counts. Ours is

(10-06-2018 09:06 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:04 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  Sorry. I feel the same way about these uniforms as I do about the uniforms we wore in the Liberty Bowl against Miss. State.
After this performance I think we should go old school Penn State. White pants. White jerseys. White helmet with a number on the side.
Oh ... and no names on the back of the jersey.

Blame the uniforms?

No.
not blaming anything.
Just my feeling that our lousy play could be identified with the new uniform.

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

ah... but just look at the military... The navy has 3 or 4 'uniforms'. They're still 'uniform' in that everyone wears the same style for the same events... just like football.

But yes as others have said.... the kids like the variety. At the margin, we need every advantage we can get... and I don't know a single kid who says "I like that Rice wears the same uniforms they wore 20 years ago'. The far more frequent comment is that 'the new style reflects a new attitude'.

From the stands the helmet logo and the player's names were impossible to see/read. The numbers were legible, but don't look good from a distance.

(10-06-2018 09:55 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

But yes as others have said.... the kids like the variety. At the margin, we need every advantage we can get... and I don't know a single kid who says "I like that Rice wears the same uniforms they wore 20 years ago'. The far more frequent comment is that 'the new style reflects a new attitude'.

Just goes to show what was obvious already: that "because the kids like it" is almost never a good reason to do anything.

I would be honored to wear a uniform that was consistent across the decades, and slightly embarrassed to wear one that changes from week to week.

These unis (all-grey with white helmets) seemed as bad as the all white look a few weeks ago. Many believe contrast is needed when choosing combinations. I did not mind that they finally added in some grey. But rarely do any team's mono-color unis seem to look very good. I like our basic looks with OER. White or grey with blue or blue or grey with white. We could really use some stripes and numbers on shoulder pads and pants (and a stripe on helmet) instead of this stuff.

As far as "new attitude" best for the scoreboard to show that. At least, that's what I'd prefer. Instead of just looking different while we lose.

(10-06-2018 10:51 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:55 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

But yes as others have said.... the kids like the variety. At the margin, we need every advantage we can get... and I don't know a single kid who says "I like that Rice wears the same uniforms they wore 20 years ago'. The far more frequent comment is that 'the new style reflects a new attitude'.

Just goes to show what was obvious already: that "because the kids like it" is almost never a good reason to do anything.

I would be honored to wear a uniform that was consistent across the decades, and slightly embarrassed to wear one that changes from week to week.

"Because the kids like it" leads to better recruiting. It's not for the fans; they don't sell shirts. It's only for the players. So far, there's never been a school that took a hit in tickets sold or donations received because they wore a number of different jerseys throughout the season. The handful of schools that you'd have Rice emulate, like Alabama or Penn State, each have a decades long tradition of success that the shirt stands for. Rice football does not have that kind of stature. So do you want to burn time until we have 40 straight years of winning records to make a plain Rice uniform iconic, or do you want to be better on the recruiting trail now?

(10-06-2018 11:17 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  As far as "new attitude" best for the scoreboard to show that. At least, that's what I'd prefer. Instead of just looking different while we lose.

That's the sole benefit! It's like being a spy... no one recognizes that its Rice so we can pawn off responsibility of that disaster fest onto someone else.

Quick - who else has gray unis and white helmets?

(10-06-2018 11:19 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 10:51 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:55 PM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(10-06-2018 09:34 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Why must our football team keep trotting out new uniforms?
Isn't one purpose of a uniform to be, you know, uniform?

But yes as others have said.... the kids like the variety. At the margin, we need every advantage we can get... and I don't know a single kid who says "I like that Rice wears the same uniforms they wore 20 years ago'. The far more frequent comment is that 'the new style reflects a new attitude'.

Just goes to show what was obvious already: that "because the kids like it" is almost never a good reason to do anything.

I would be honored to wear a uniform that was consistent across the decades, and slightly embarrassed to wear one that changes from week to week.

"Because the kids like it" leads to better recruiting. It's not for the fans; they don't sell shirts. It's only for the players. So far, there's never been a school that took a hit in tickets sold or donations received because they wore a number of different jerseys throughout the season. The handful of schools that you'd have Rice emulate, like Alabama or Penn State, each have a decades long tradition of success that the shirt stands for. Rice football does not have that kind of stature. So do you want to burn time until we have 40 straight years of winning records to make a plain Rice uniform iconic, or do you want to be better on the recruiting trail now?

A lot of logical leaps here. It is axiomatic that branding is important to affinity, loyalty and reputation, and that inconsistency in design is bad for branding. Where is the data to show that weak branding through inconsistent design actually helps recruiting?

(10-07-2018 02:14 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  A lot of logical leaps here. It is axiomatic that branding is important to affinity, loyalty and reputation, and that inconsistency in design is bad for branding. Where is the data to show that weak branding through inconsistent design actually helps recruiting?

There are thousands of marketing studies that reflect this. I know you'd prefer that I link to one and I probably should, but it depends on what you're trying to accomplish as to which studies are on point. Even Rice Baseball had a number of changes.

The 'owl' vs the R and emphasizing a different aspect of our color scheme are two different things. I wold have preferred a darker gray... but I suspect this is closer to our actual school color.

Sometimes people change branding to get you to buy the newest latest version... see basketball shoes

Consistent branding is only advantageous if your brand has a positive association... and most of the schools that remain consistent have that.

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/sports/new...0cf42.html

“My favorite is the all-black ones,” Croney Jr. added. “When we wear all black, that’s probably going to be my favorite look.”

and Black isn't in their color scheme

Almost everyone has added a black or gray version of their uniform, even iirc A&M, a University so grounded in tradition that they still have male cheerleaders in ice cream suits, organized cheers and a military band.

I feel 100% confident that before they did this, they consulted a 'branding' firm

Your point is not without merit... but the other side of the debate is also pretty clear

My opinion.... I like the gray. It's our color. I probably would have gone darker but I can't fault sticking to our palette. The owl on the helmet is unrecognizable. White helmets with gray are bad. Either go gray there as well or my favorite, a SHINY blue

I like all white but I don't think it's popular. White Jerseys with Gray pants would look good. Gray Jerseys with white pants maybe for home?

(10-07-2018 11:55 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  I like all white but I don't think it's popular. White Jerseys with Gray pants would look good. Gray Jerseys with white pants maybe for home?

For me:
Gray-Blue-Gray for home.
Gray-White-Gray for away.

I'll admit its inspired by the Patriots, but I think they have a slick look.

I dont like solid colors. It looks like a jumpsuit. As a result, not a fan of our all blue and all whites.

The solid grey looks as terrible as the solid white. I prefer that we find a consistent look. I hope I never see a white helmet again. Go back to the uniforms we wore in the Texas Bowl in 2008. Those were a beautiful. All these uniform changes do nothing to reinforce branding. Find something that works, and stick with it.

All right, my opinions:
- The all grey looked cheap, like a old-style warm-up suit
- The number were very hard to read and should not be used again
- The names were completely illegible and pointless. One guy near me thought we were not having names as part of the military salute.
- The helmets were bad. That logo was way too small and shiny to see. Hopefully nothing but R helmets from now on.
- The red/white/blue helmet stripe could have worked but there was so little red it was hard to notice.

I liked the gray as an idea, but didn't like the execution with the numbers and names so difficult to read. I also didn't like gray tops and gray bottoms together, but I think I would have liked them individually if done in combination with more blue.

(10-09-2018 09:46 AM)mrbig Wrote:  I liked the gray as an idea, but didn't like the execution with the numbers and names so difficult to read. I also didn't like gray tops and gray bottoms together, but I think I would have liked them individually if done in combination with more blue.

+1. This whole uniform experiment screams of amateurism. We trot out in something different every week. Kids shouldn't need the latest designs in uniform apparel to get motivated to play. It's ridiculous. Put an end to it. Find a permanent combo that's classic and traditional in look. I thought we had this all worked out in 2008. There's one uniform that we can all agree on. We need to find it.

Looking at the pictures up close the uniforms looked pretty good, but from the stands the names and numbers were extremely hard to read. I would like the gray pants with blue jerseys and the blue "R" helmet.

(10-09-2018 12:22 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(10-09-2018 09:46 AM)mrbig Wrote:  I liked the gray as an idea, but didn't like the execution with the numbers and names so difficult to read. I also didn't like gray tops and gray bottoms together, but I think I would have liked them individually if done in combination with more blue.

+1. This whole uniform experiment screams of amateurism. We trot out in something different every week. Kids shouldn't need the latest designs in uniform apparel to get motivated to play. It's ridiculous. Put an end to it. Find a permanent combo that's classic and traditional in look. I thought we had this all worked out in 2008. There's one uniform that we can all agree on. We need to find it.

Have you watched college football any the last 10 years? Almost no team wears the same uniform combo every week. Even ND alternates now.

Many schools who have the new style of Adidas uniforms this year have been complaining about the inability to see the names/numbers.

Not Rice specific.