Back to the College Football Uniforms
The Boilermakers unveiled five new uniform combinations from Nike during the 2011 season, the first major revamping in five years. Current get ups include black tops with black or gold pants at home and white jerseys with gold, white or black pants on the road.
Custom numbers specific to Purdue are inspired by the “DIN” typeface dating back to 1923. It was the most widely used font on vehicles in train yards. The Boilermakers’ current pants have built in pads and feature mesh panels for a true fit. Flywire is on the collar of both tops to prevent slippage and adds more breathability.
Stripes from the past are gone on current jerseys but a single black strip has been added down the sides of Purdue’s white and alternate gold pants. A gold strip is visible on the black pants. Purdue’s current sets look a lot like Army’s, another Nike-sponsored program that dons gold and black.
The Boilermakers’ helmets have had minor changes over the last decade but have remained gold shells with Purdue’s “P” logo since 1971. Facemask color switched from gray to black in 1979 and hasn’t changed since. Purdue went away from the norm and donned black shells with an old yellow “P” during 1989 and ’90 seasons.
In recognition of Drew Brees’ trip to the 2001 Rose Bowl, the Boilermakers wore a custom 10th anniversary logo on their helmets in 2010 against Minnesota. The graphic featured a rose with leaves weaving its way through Purdue’s primary logo.
A potential matte black helmet has surfaced in recent months, but the Boilermakers have yet to debut the look and there’s no word on whether or not the all-black get up is in Nike’s wardrobe plans.
Champion was Purdue’s outfitter before Nike in the late 90s.
