Back to the College Football Uniforms
Another SEC program with great tradition and six national championships, Tennessee’s uniform motto of doing more with less seems to work in the Knoxville. The Volunteer “T” is widely-recognizable on helmets and apparel while “Tennessee Orange” has its own citrus shade.
The Volunteers have used the current helmet with varying font sizes — white with orange T — since 1964 and there are no plans to change it. For the most part, Tennessee has sported orange jerseys and white tops at home with an all-white get up on the road throughout its history. In 2008 however, the Vols officially brought orange pants back into the mix against Memphis and have worn the bright threads on the road in recent seasons.
The orange pants were debuted in 1977 with two white stripes adorning the side of the leg. They were displayed in the forefront two decades later during the 2007 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta when the Vols came out in all-orange after an eight-year hiatus.
During Lane Kiffin’s only season in Knoxville, the Volunteers brought out alternate black jerseys for the first time in nearly 100 years. Tennessee won the game, but the white helmet-black top-orange pants combination didn’t work. There have been several black helmet concepts in recent seasons, but the Vols have yet to don black shells on gameday.
Incorporating black into the uniform has resulted in subtle changes to jersey numbers and piping through the years, but no substantial differences can be seen. Orange and white remain the primary colors and represent Tennessee football. The Vols moved to white shells in the 1950s and haven’t changed since.
New head coach Butch Jones was a fan of Adidas’ cutting-edge alternate combinations at Cincinnati but the Bearcats, without a rich tradition, had very few people telling him otherwise.
