Back to the College Football Uniforms
Over the past several years, Florida International’s gameday garb with Adidas has utilized the program’s secondary gold color as an accent hue on a majority navy and white uniform.
Recently, the Golden Panthers dropped diagonal striping that circled the shoulders for a solid color jersey. A “PANTHERS” wordmark remained splashed across each set on the front above player numerals and the school’s “FIU” secondary wordmark can be seen on the left hip of pants.
FIU’s on-field apparel — in terms of appearance — is the South Beach equivalent of the Pittsburgh Panthers with a traditional navy, gold and white swatch.
The Golden Panthers’ cleanest current are their monochrome white road uniforms and all-blue home combination. Both sets are fluid with FIU’s rich navy helmet that’s been around since the program began in 2002. In 2008, the school’s primary “FIU” graphic was updated to include a panther beneath the I.
FIU’s first prototype helmet used during a 1999 sales pitch at a football committee meeting with then-FIU president Mitch Maidique was actual royal blue with a Thundercats style decal after Riddell mistakenly sent the program the bright shell instead of navy. Three years later, the Golden Panthers made their debut on the gridiron with navy lids.
Prior to inking its current deal with Adidas, FIU was Nike-sponsored and donned uniforms that resembled prep-style throwbacks with drop-shadowed numerals and wide shoulder stripes. The Golden Panthers haven’t brought out their all-gold pants since.
