Just six weeks after debuting white facemasks for the first time in program history, the Auburn Tigers are once again making a change to the iconic football helmet.
When the Tigers take to the field this weekend to face the Ole Miss Rebels, they will do so sporting a classic orange-colored facemask.
Orange facemasks were first introduced in 1979 as head coach Doug Barfield worked in as much orange into the Tigers’ uniforms as possible.
After taking over the reign from the legendary Shug Jordan, Barfield almost immediately began to make his mark on the uniforms. Barfield’s first season as head coach in 1976 saw the addition of reward decals in the shape of an eagle. The next season, the white belts were replaced with orange belts. 1978 saw the infamous orange jerseys make their first appearance against Georgia. And in 1979, the orange facemasks completed the orange-ification of Auburn’s uniforms.
Auburn stuck to the orange-heavy uniforms through 1980, the end of Barfield’s tenure. When Pat Dye took over the job in 1981, he immediately mothballed the orange jerseys. The orange belts stuck around for that first season but were replaced with navy belts the following year. In 1983, Dye replaced the orange masks with navy, ultimately removing all traces of the Barfield era from the Tigers’ uniforms.
Many of Auburn’s greatest athletes sporting the orange facemasks: Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, Lionel James, Randy Campbell, Al Del Greco, and, of course, Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson.
The orange masks were worn during Auburn’s rise under Dye, returning to a bowl game for the first time in nearly a decade, defeating Michigan in the Sugar Bowl, and knocking off Alabama in 1982 after a nine-year losing streak.
Pat Dye removed the orange facemasks prior to the 1984 season. The navy masks have stuck around for every game but three since then.
Bo Knows Orange Facemasks. (image via John Jacono, Sports Illustrated)
In 2007, Auburn honored the 1957 national championship team with a throwback helmet design. The AU logos were removed, and the navy mask was replaced with grey for the game. When the Tigers faced Minnesota in the Outback Bowl following the 2019 season, they sported the grey masks once again. The AU logo was removed from the left side of the helmet, replaced with the late Pat Sullivan’s #7 for every player. And, as mentioned earlier, Auburn donned white masks for the first time earlier this season at Penn State.
Many fans – myself included – have clamored for the orange facemasks to return, even if for a one-game special. The orange masks add just enough splash of orange to the team’s uniforms. Some would argue it’s too much orange and creates an unbalanced design. The orange accessories sported in 2015 also had a similar divisive reaction.
This all comes on the heels of introducing white masks for the mid-September game at Penn State. The simple change seemed to be incredibly well-received from my perspective. Auburn fans interacting with the Auburn Uniform Database overwhelmingly loved the white masks paired with the white road jerseys. Between the AUD’s Instagram and Twitter accounts, nearly 1,500 users voted overwhelmingly positive when polled about the white masks. Many commented that it was a solid look with the white jerseys, but pairing them with the home navy tops would be a different story.
The reception was surprising, to say the least. Especially from those fans that have always voiced their displeasure with any change whatsoever.
When the white masks were announced, many wondered if it was a one-time thing or simply the first domino to fall. Well, the second domino has fallen now with the orange facemasks. What does this mean moving forward?
Dana Marquez, the head equipment manager at Auburn, told Auburn Undercover following the Penn State game that the University’s administration had to sign off on the alternate colored masks.
“We’re a tradition-based school; we don’t want to change our uniform and upset the fan base,” Dana stated. “We wanted to make sure we’re following the protocol and the university feels good about it. Once we got the approval, it was pretty straightforward.”
Dana went on to speak on the possibility of the orange facemasks returning, even saying, “I tried to change the helmet to blue one year,” indicating the navy shells that leaked prior to the 2010 Clemson game were ultimately real.
Will Auburn continue to play with the football team’s uniforms? It looks like that’s the case.
Will the Tigers jump onto the crazy alternate uniform train that has encapsulated the landscape of athletic uniforms over the last decade? It’s doubtful.
There are far too many stakeholders that have some say in what the Tigers look like each week. The traditional uniform means a lot to Auburn fans. Departing from that too much is bound to result in negative reactions. Auburn looks to be trying to find a good balance between keeping the peace and simply doing something different.
Facemasks became common throughout the Auburn football team in 1965. Since then, the Tigers have gone 93-60-4 in grey facemasks, 47-23 in orange, 303-140-5 in navy, and 0-1 in white masks.
UPDATE: Here’s a gallery of photographs from Saturday’s game showcasing the new orange facemasks in action.
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