Kansas Jayhawks Football Uniforms

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It appears the Jayhawks have finally decided on a helmet color, switching from different shades of blue, a bright white and even crimson over the last 50 years. For a program that has kept a traditional on-field jersey and pants combination since 1890, lids have changed often. The current blue shade has been worn since 2005, but subtle changes have been made to the corresponding helmet decals.

In 2007, the Jayhawks went to its current logo, an oversized “KU” on a royal shell with a single crimson stripe. The stripe was dropped three years later. Kansas donned a white helmet with a “Jayhawk” decal during the 1977 and ’78 seasons, but didn’t bring them out with a similar logo until 2012. Crimson shells were worn in the mid 1960s but haven’t been seen since.

Over the last three decades, Kansas has worn 16 different helmets with 13 having a blue shell. The strangest look came in 1987 when the Jayhawks mimicked the New York Giants’ red-striped, navy shell with a white facemask. The underlined “KANSAS” wordmark was a direct correlation to the professional football franchise’s logo. The get up was ditched after one season.

The Jayhawks stuck with navy shells two more years before moving to royal that lasted from 1990 to 2001. In a 2011 home game against Texas Tech, the Jayhawks went against the norm and donned white shells with powder blue numbers.

Since Adidas took over for the swoosh in 2005, Kansas’ basketball uniforms have seen more changes than what has happened on the gridiron. The Jayhawks’ predominant football look is its royal shell, royal top and white pants get up. Silver pants and a crimson alternate top are available for a nice change.

Kansas signed its current deal with the three stripes it 2005. At the time, a $26.6 million payout from Adidas over an eight-year span was more than five times the amount of money Nike was giving the Jayhawks under an existing contract.