Back to the College Football Uniforms
Royal blue and white are two colors we’ve come to expect with the Kentucky Wildcats, but with black being the new “it” color in college football, Nike incorporated the fad into the Southeastern Conference program with dark jerseys and pants during the 2011 season.
As a home alternate, the Wildcats first wore the all black (jersey and pants) with a blue helmet get up in October 2011 against Mississippi State.
Nike’s revamping of Kentucky’s traditional look in 2012 included two modernized helmets, pearlized white with a blue stripe and blue metallic with a white stripe. Checkered shoulders were added to the tops — an ode to Kentucky’s racing purists — and they’re a nice touch. Numbers were added to the shoulders. Kentucky donned white helmets throughout the Tim Couch years from 1996-98 so their return could perhaps summon success. Before 2011, the Wildcats last wore white helmets in 2002.
Kentucky’s current uniforms are under Nike’s Pro Combat umbrella, an elite area of design intended to produce light, moisture-wicking apparel. The advanced tweaks to the Wildcats’ gameday uniforms include stretchable material, heavy ventilation and built-in padding that has been added in the knee area.
The Wildcats can now wear various combinations of blue, white and black — 18 in all — but what we haven’t seen yet in Lexington is a black helmet. That may come soon should the Wildcats find national relevance under new head coach Mark Stoops.
Kentucky began wearing the swoosh on its football uniforms during the mid 1990s, moving over from Riddell. In 1997, Kentucky began using the current interlocking UK on the shell, moving over from a single K logo.
