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The swoosh added not one, but two different shades of gray to Washington State’s uniform combination in 2011, giving the Cougars a slew of updated and fresh looks on the field.
In addition to Washington State’s familiar crimson helmet with a white “Cougar” decal, a gray shell is now available with two different logos — a crimson Cougar and a dark “tonal gray” Cougar. In 2000, the Cougars introduced a two-helmet scheme at home and on the road. Gray was worn at home and crimson on the road.
In an effort to rebrand a struggling program during its first season in the PAC-12, Nike incorporated more gray elements into the gameday choices, a light and a dark shade of jerseys and pants. Wazzu’s current alternate is an all-grey get up with crimson numbers — a strange look for sure.
The Cougars have donned gray shells with a crimson decal at some point of the season every year since 1976 but never all-gray. Wazzu’s Nike threads in the late 90s were a mix of white and crimson — very little gray.
The Cougars went to a darker shade of crimson — almost maroon — at the turn of the century and had uniforms that featured drop-shadowed numerals and teeth-like stripes at the shoulders, rib cage and side of the leg.
Wazzu’s current tops have stripes and piping, but it’s not as exaggerated. Besides alternating from its “Cougars” wordmark to the “Cougar” logo in the 1990s and 00s, Wazzu altered helmet decals for a one-time use only during the ‘03 season to include a rose for the school’s appearance in the Rose Bowl.
