The Auburn Uniform Database is dedicated to documenting the historic aesthetics of Auburn University Athletics.
Yes, Auburn Football Actually Wore Green Jerseys
/0 Comments/by Clint RichardsonRoses are red, violets are blue, my alma mater wore green, and so should you.
Nearly eighty years ago, that’s exactly what happened with the Auburn Football program.
Jack Meagher (pronounced “Mahr,” not “Meeg-er”) grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and attended the University of Notre Dame. Meagher would play football under the tutelage of assistant coach Knute Rockne, the man that would rise to legend status and bring home three national titles for the Irish.
Meagher began coaching himself after his playing days. He was hired as the head football coach by Auburn in 1934. Meagher would take the Auburn Football program to their first bowl game in the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havanna, Cuba. The following season, Meagher’s Tigers would grab their first bowl victory over Michigan State in the Orange Bowl.
Jack made an impact on Auburn and Auburn Football. His most unique mark came in 1938 when the Tigers kicked off the season against Birmingham-Southern in Montgomery.
Auburn took to the field wearing green jerseys.
Yes, green.
Remember that Meagher was a Notre Dame graduate?
Notre Dame was at the top of college football. Anyone associated with Notre Dame, especially those coming from Rockne’s coaching tree, was highly sought after by other schools to lead their program. The brotherhood of Irish-alum coaches would often schedule each other at their new schools.
Auburn was often seen as a lesser program and, despite having a solid on-campus stadium, struggled to bring name-brand schools to town. The Tigers often played home games in Birmingham, Montgomery, and even Columbus, Georgia. In fact, Auburn only played eight games in Auburn during Meagher’s nine seasons as head coach. Those games included Florida and Clemson (three games), who were bad teams then, and Louisiana Tech, Loyola (Louisiana), and Oglethorpe (twice).
Meagher’s Tigers traveled across the country to play teams: Boston, Detroit, Houston, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and even a multi-day train trip to San Francisco.
Always fighting an uphill battle to earn respect for his team, Meagher decided to do something completely different. To one-up his fellow alumni in showing how much he loved Notre Dame, Meagher purchased green jerseys for the orange-and-blue-clad Tigers.
The 1938 green jerseys matched the design worn since 1934, featuring orange numerals and three orange stripes on the sleeves. The Tigers would wear these green tops in at least seven games this season, with the orange jerseys being worn just twice (maybe three times, can’t decipher jersey color in one game). Auburn would win the season opener against Birmingham-Southern en route to a 4-4 overall record in the green jerseys.
For 1939, Auburn made a tweak to the green threads. While the orange numerals remained, the triple sleeve stripes were removed. The new green tops were used in at least five games (no photographs have been discovered for the season opener against Birmingham-Southern) to a 2-3 record.
Auburn defeated Mississippi State and Georgia twice in the green era while falling to rivals Tennessee and Georgia Tech twice.
Meagher would coach three more seasons at Auburn without the green jerseys making another appearance. Did Meagher get his fill of them? Nope. His team despised them.
Legendary receiver Babe McGehee spoke to The Plainsman in 1986 about his playing days in the 1930s. The key passage stated: “At one time, Meagher brought out green uniforms with orange stripes and numbers. ‘We didn’t wear those too much,’ McGehee said, ‘The team objected.’”
It’s unclear what McGehee meant by “didn’t wear those too much,” as we know that they were worn for 12 games in two years, easily becoming the primary during the time.
And then there’s Boots Stratford, possibly the first to ever track Auburn uniforms in some fashion. The Plainsman writer published multiple articles about the team’s aesthetics, even calling the orange jerseys cursed at one point. Boots declared the Irish green tops “lucky” in 1939.
Note the last line of that last clipping. Boots, the precursor to the Auburn Uniform Database, stated he wasn’t a fan of the green uniforms. And not just once, but twice! Clearly, the players weren’t the only ones to reject the alternate uniforms.
A 7-0 defeat to #2 Tennessee would be the final appearance of the short-lived green uniforms. But what if, for some reason, they had stuck around? Or if Auburn decided to wear throwback uniforms to this lost era? It might look a little something like this:
Yes, Auburn really wore green jerseys. And no, the orange jerseys were not winless under Barfield. Auburn’s uniform history is more interesting than you probably thought.
Special thanks to The War Eagle Reader for laying the foundation and researching this topic years ago.
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Auburn’s Bowl Game History
/0 Comments/by Clint RichardsonThe Auburn Tigers will participate in their 46th bowl game later this month when they face the Houston Cougars in the Birmingham Bowl. As is tradition here on the Auburn Uniform Database, it’s time to take a look back through Auburn’s history in bowl games.
Uniform History
Auburn has only made one appearance in the Birmingham Bowl before, following the 2015 season. It was a Tiger-vs-Tiger affair, as the Memphis Tigers were the opposing team. As the designated road team, Auburn sport their white jerseys while Memphis went with a black helmet, blue jersey, black pants combination.
The 2015 season was the first of the new Under Armour uniform template, finally fixing the issues on the previous version, truncated pants stripe and all. It also allowed Auburn to fix another issue – the bowl patch placement.
The two previous bowl games saw the patch placed below the Under Armour logo, making for an awkward look. With the return to the regular placement, things felt back to normal.
Auburn debuted a new Under Armour template in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2019. The Tigers would win the first bowl game in each of the first three templates, falling in the Outback Bowl following the 2019 season.
Matchup Preview
Bowl games shine when they pit two teams against each other that have either never faced off before or haven’t done so in a long time. Auburn has yet to face 42 of the 130 current FBS teams. Crossing those teams off in a bowl game would always be preferable.
While Auburn’s 2021 bowl game opponent isn’t a new foe, it’s been a long time since they have faced off.
Auburn and the Houston Cougars faced off six times between 1956 and 1973, including a bowl game in 1969. The matchup would swap locations from Auburn and Houston. The Tigers would pull out all the on-campus games, including the final meeting in 1973 for a homecoming victory.
Auburn leads the overall series 5-1. The lone loss came in the 1969 Astro Bluebonnet Bowl played in the famed Astrodome. Effectively a home game for the Cougars, Houston would dominate to a 36-7 win.
Houston has multiple uniform combinations available to wear. With red and white helmets, pants, and jerseys, the Cougars could sport any number of looks. As they are the designated road team, we can expect Houston to wear their white tops.
That narrows it down a bit, although Houston has sported throwback white uniforms this season. While I wouldn’t expect them to be worn, the classic design and thinner UH helmet decals would match well with Auburn’s look, creating a matchup reminiscent of the classic games in this series.
The best matchup available would be for Houston to wear their red helmets and pants with the white jerseys. So far this season, that look has only been worn once in the regular-season finale at UConn. Just about every other combination has been worn on the road this season, with red and white helmets and pants swapping.
The best gift that this game could give would be a rare color-on-color matchup. Auburn’s navy versus Houston’s red.
Auburn last played a color-on-color game in 2012 when they opened the season with Clemson. That made for consecutive orange-vs-blue games, as the 2011 Chick-fil-a Bowl against Virginia followed suit. That was the first colorful matchup for Auburn since 1972 against Tennessee.
The last time Auburn played a blue-vs-red game was against Georgia in 1969. The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry was a color-on-color affair for most of the 1950s and 1960s. The Iron Bowl also saw its fair share of these colorful matchups.
Field History
Possibly the most popular aspect of the Auburn Uniform Database – and a personal favorite of mine – is the collection of bowl game field designs. Every bowl game is different, and every bowl game field design is even more different. Every field has so much character and was such a joy to recreate.
Auburn’s lone appearance in the Birmingham Bowl was played at the historic Legion Field. The field design was unique with royal blue circles in the endzones with black backgrounds. The city name arched across the top in a large block font, while the stadium name was rendered in a script font.
This season will mark the first time the bowl game will be played at UAB’s new Protective Stadium. It’s unclear if they will carry over the endzone design from previous years to the new venue. While we haven’t seen anything at the time of writing this, the promotional materials and seat preview views have showcased the field with one royal blue endzone and the other red.
Other games this year are featuring the Bowl Season on the 25 yardlines. This began last season and looks to be sticking around another year. Though the Birmingham Bowl’s seat preview doesn’t feature the Bowl Season logo, I imagine the real deal will indeed.
We will have to wait and see if this is the official design to be played on.
Should more information on the field be available, updated designs will be posted on the social media accounts and the final result will end up on the Bowl Game Fields page, where you can find a historic catalog of almost every bowl field that Auburn has played on.
Bowl History
Auburn football has played in 45 bowl games to a 24-19-2 record. That began back in 1937 when Auburn met Villanova in Havana, Cuba. This was the first game between two American universities on foreign soil. Despite the riots and gunfire raining outside the stadium, the game went on. Auburn led 7-0 for most of the game, but Villanova would block a punt in the closing minutes to tie the game at 7. The Tigers would tie in their first bowl game – and they wore orange jerseys doing so.
Auburn would get their first bowl victory the following season, defeating Michigan State in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It would be 16 years later that Auburn would make another bowl game, facing Texas Tech in the 1954 Gator Bowl. Auburn would wear orange again – Texas Tech would wear red. That would also be the debut of Tech’s Masked Rider mascot.
The Tigers would play in the Gator Bowl for three straight seasons, including becoming the first team to play in the same bowl game twice in the same calendar year. Auburn and Texas Tech faced off on January 1, 1954, following the 1953 season. In an attempt to garner more attention, the Gator Bowl moved to December 31. Auburn would face Baylor on New Year’s Eve 1954. The Tigers would be paired with conference foe Vanderbilt in 1955.
Bowl patches would first appear on an Auburn football uniform for the 1982 Tangerine Bowl when the Tigers faced off against Doug Flutie’s Boston College Eagles. The patches would replace the TV numbers on the shoulders, rather than be placed on the chest as is common today.
This would be commonplace for the rest of the decade, with the 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl being the final occurrence. Twice during the 80s, Auburn would wear a single bowl patch on one shoulder and an SEC Champions patch on the other. A few times, the game patch was actually customized to include Auburn colors and logos.
For even more Auburn bowl game stories, be sure to check out the Auburn Uniform Database on Facebook and Instagram.
Bowl games are also one of the most popular projects on this site. Every single uniform and patch worn during the bowl games are available here, and a majority of the field designs are also available. You can also find uniform matchups from 2012 to today, viewing by season or by team.
Enjoy learning about Auburn uniforms and history? Want to see more like this? Be sure to follow the Auburn Uniform Database, like the AUD Facebook page, Instagram page, and follow me on Twitter for even more uniform news. To support this work, you can donate directly via Buy Me A Coffee. You can also purchase your favorite team’s merchandise through Fanatics, with a portion of your sale going to support this website.
Featured image via Matthew Shannon, Auburn Athletics
Iron Bowl Features Orange Facemasks for First Time Since 1984
/0 Comments/by Clint RichardsonBetween 1973 and 1981, Alabama rattled off nine straight victories over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
For the 1982 edition, a freshman running back by the name of Vincent “Bo” Jackson took the handoff, dove over the pile of offensive lineman in white and defensive lineman in crimson, and ended the long losing streak.
The following year, Auburn pulled off a 23-20 victory as severe storms surrounded the Birmingham area. The Tigers finally had a winning streak against Alabama once again.
During those two wins – and three of the previous nine losses – the Tigers sported orange facemasks on their classic white helmets with orange and navy stripes down the middle. It was the design that Bo Jackson wore as his name became known in households across the country.
The orange masks were retired in 1984 when Pat Dye replaced them with navy cages. Bo Jackson won his Heisman Trophy following the 1985 season wearing a navy mask.
The orange facemasks only lasted five seasons. They hadn’t been seen for nearly four decades until the Tigers wore them against Ole Miss on October 30, just four weeks ago. They return once more this season for the greatest rivalry in all of football.
This will mark the third game this year that the Tigers have worn an alternate facemask color, the first being the September 18th game at Penn State. For their first road trip of the year, and the first road game at a Big 10 stadium since the 1930s, Auburn broke out white facemasks for the first time in program history. Six weeks later was the aforementioned Ole Miss game.
Two of the orange facemask Iron Bowls featured special tributes on the Auburn football helmets.
The week prior to the Alabama game, Alan Manley and Cary Condray were killed when their car collided with a diesel tanker truck and caught fire in Florida. The two freshmen were honored during the rivalry game with Auburn wearing black tape above the AU logo on the right side of the helmet.
Two years later, tragedy struck again. As was typical during preseason camp, players had to pass multiple physical fitness tests. Following the running portion of the conditioning drills, fullback Greg Pratt collapsed. He would die at the hospital. Auburn would wear large #36 decals on the back left side of their helmets throughout the season in his honor.
The Auburn football uniform has seen more tweaks this season than any year in the previous century. What does the future look like? Will we see more than just different colored facemasks in the coming years? Stay tuned for a new article in the coming weeks that seeks to answer many of those questions.
Enjoy learning about Auburn uniforms and history? Want to see more like this? Be sure to follow the Auburn Uniform Database on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for even more uniform news. To support this work, you can donate directly via Buy Me A Coffee. You can also purchase your favorite team’s merchandise through Fanatics, with a portion of your sale going to support this website.
Featured image via Adam Sparks
Orange Facemasks Return for Ole Miss Game
/0 Comments/by Clint RichardsonJust 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.
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?
A source close to the Auburn football program has told me the Tigers will wear an orange facemask for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss. The program previously wore orange facemasks during the 1979-83 seasons: pic.twitter.com/fuavZA2pAE
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) October 29, 2021
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.
Enjoy learning about Auburn uniforms and history? Want to see more like this? Be sure to follow the Auburn Uniform Database on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for even more uniform news. To support this work, you can donate directly via Buy Me A Coffee. You can also purchase your favorite team’s merchandise through Fanatics, with a portion of your sale going to support this website.
Auburn Tweaks Helmet Design at Penn State
/0 Comments/by Clint RichardsonThe Auburn Football team will sport a new look this weekend at Beaver Stadium. A look that many fans have been requesting for years.
Since 1984, the Tigers have worn navy facemasks for all but two games in which grey masks were used. For the Penn State game, Auburn took the Nittany Lions’ “White Out” to heart and will sport white cages on the white shells to pair with the white jerseys and white pants typical for the road uniforms.
It will mark the first time that Auburn has worn an alternate uniform of any kind simply for the sake of doing so. Previous uniform tweaks have come with some sort of anniversary or memorial attached.
In 2007, Auburn celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1957 National Championship team when Vanderbilt came to town for homecoming. The Tigers removed the AU logo from the helmets and swapped the navy facemasks for grey to better mimic what the team wore half a century prior. Auburn also wore white at home for the occasion, as the 1957 team’s white jerseys had the now-familiar Northwestern Stripes but the navy tops were blank.
When Auburn appeared in the Outback Bowl following the 2019 season, the Tigers paid tribute to the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner. Pat Sullivan had passed away from a long battle with cancer in December. The players approached the coaching staff wanting to honor the Auburn legend. The team took the field in Tampa wearing Sullivan’s #7 on the left side of the helmet paired with grey facemasks.
As alternate uniforms continue to become the norm in the college football world, many have wondered when – or if – Auburn would ever jump on the trend. The questions continue to pop up each summer. While many fans embrace the idea of their beloved Tigers wearing more than two combinations, another portion of the fanbase is not interested in changing what is believed to be a perfect design.
When Bryan Harsin was hired in December, the questions about changing the uniforms naturally reappeared. In January, I published an article that went into detail about how much say an Auburn head coach could have in these types of decisions. Turns out, I wasn’t entirely accurate. Harsin apparently saw an opportunity to make a change and the team went and did just that.
𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 𝑴𝑶𝑫𝑬 𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑽𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑫 🧊#WarEagle | #AuburnMade pic.twitter.com/7YZQ1J1adu
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 18, 2021
While a change of facemask color is ultimately minor, the question now is if this opens the door for more changes to come in the future.
Most of Auburn’s modern coaches have had some handle on the team’s uniforms. Shug Jordan was responsible for the traditional design. Doug Barfield added orange facemasks and orange jerseys. Pat Dye went more traditional and added navy facemasks for the first time. Terry Bowden added orange drop shadows to the numbers. Tommy Tuberville reverted those changes. Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn kept the uniform unchanged during their tenures.
Adding white facemasks into the team’s uniform rotation could be Harsin’s lasting aesthetic impact. Or, it’s the first domino. It’s difficult to know for sure from outside of the program.
If anything, Saturday night will be our first look at a new Auburn football uniform combination that has never been worn before.
The new white facemask is the second change to the Auburn helmet this year. Debuting in April for A-Day, Auburn has stuck with the large two-toned player numbers on the back of the helmet. The Auburn Unity logo has moved to the helmet from the jersey, and the SEC decal was moved to the right side because of that.
UPDATE: Here’s a gallery of photographs from Saturday’s game showcasing the new white facemasks in action.
Enjoy learning about Auburn uniforms and history? Want to see more like this? Be sure to follow the Auburn Uniform Database on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for even more uniform news. To support this work, you can donate directly via Buy Me A Coffee. You can also purchase your favorite team’s merchandise through Fanatics, with a portion of your sale going to support this website.
What Does a New Coach Mean for Auburn’s Aesthetics?
/2 Comments/by Clint RichardsonIt takes countless hours to research Auburn uniforms and create content. If you like this site and the Auburn Uniform Database social media accounts, please consider supporting through Buy Me A Coffee. No, you aren’t actually buying a coffee – it’s just a simple way to support your favorite creators. Thank you for your consideration and continued support of the AUD.
On December 24th, Auburn introduced Bryan Harsin as the new Auburn football head coach. Almost immediately, rumors, questions, and good-natured jokes began to circulate about what Harsin may bring to his new school’s traditional aesthetic history.
Why?
Well, because of the school he spent much of his life. Today, we’ll discuss what potential changes Harsin could bring to Auburn’s aesthetics.
Will Auburn adopt a colored turf?
Simple answer – no.
You can take the coach out of Boise but you can’t take the Smurf Turf out of the coach!
(don’t blame me, blame @CfieldsVFL) pic.twitter.com/CsGoGEYWus
— Clint Richardson (@Clintau24) December 22, 2020
As Harsin played and coached in multiple positions at Boise, he has spent much of his life surrounded by the famous blue football field. Boise installed the artificially-colored surface prior to the 1986 season and they haven’t looked back.
Would Bryan Harsin even be capable of doing such a thing at Auburn, a school that boasts such a proud turf management program?
Not at all.
As long as Auburn is an agricultural school, the Auburn football team will continue to play on real grass.
Just a few years ago, Auburn Baseball made a change to Plainsman Park and added artificial turf throughout the foul area. With how upset many Auburn fans were at that change, they’re bound to lose it if Pat Dye Field ever turned to turf.
Will we see a new endzone design?
Another simple answer – no.
Auburn’s endzone design hasn’t changed since 2006 (minus 2009, when the boarders didn’t include orange and navy) when the school adopted a new wordmark. The new Copperplate font was utilized throughout the university and was to adorn just about every aspect of the brand.
Prior to that, Auburn had kept the endzones incredibly simple with a sans-serif font. Only in 1998 did things change when Terry Bowden attempted to make his mark on Auburn’s aesthetics and added the 1990s arching wordmark to the endzones.
When Tommy Tuberville was brought in as head coach in 1999, he quickly reverted back to the traditional endzone design.
Since that time, the field hasn’t seen many large-scale changes. And that’s on purpose. Auburn, like most schools and businesses in the last twenty years, has truly taken ownership of their branding and will do just about whatever they can to protect it.
So no, Harsin will not change the field design because he pretty much doesn’t have the authority to do so.
But Auburn has different endzone designs in bowl games!
Bowl games are different for a number of reasons. That’s a ripe opportunity to do something different. And most of the time, the bowl game organizers are over the field design. That’s the bowl game’s brand, after all.
So yes, the orange and white Auburn text on a blue background did look good. But that would be even more work and more paint for the Auburn grounds crew. It’s a challenge that, at least until now, they’ve shown they don’t want to take on.
Boise wore a ton of uniform combinations. Will Auburn do the same?
Say it with me – no.
Auburn’s uniforms have changed over the years based on the head coach’s wishes. Shug Jordan helped solidify the Auburn football uniform as we know it and the adoption of the AU logo. Doug Barfield had an obsession with orange and added orange facemasks, belts, and of course jerseys to the arsenal. Bowden added the orange drop-shadow numbers and Tuberville cleaned house with the traditional uniforms and, as discussed above, endzone designs.
Much like the field design, the coach nowadays doesn’t seem to have that authority. And again, that’s on purpose.
Despite what the coach would ever want on the field, that has to go through the equipment manager. Dana Marquez has done a wonderful job during his time at Auburn keeping the football uniforms looking solid. There have been hints at Dana pushing the envelope a bit and wanting to see some sort of change. In fact, last week’s Citrus Bowl saw some new tweaks to the helmet, but they were rather minor.
But it’s all for not when the higher-up officials at Auburn have the final say.
Auburn’s uniforms are held in such high regard around campus and it absolutely has to do with those that hold the power (and checkbooks).
Bryan Harsin has already shown respect for the traditions that Auburn holds so dearly, and I doubt that would change for the uniforms.
That doesn’t mean things absolutely won’t change under Harsin. He could come in and fight for that more than previous coaches. It may even be the most fight that any Auburn coach has ever made in regards to uniforms.
Will Harsin make Auburn switch to Nike?
Once more – no.
The Auburn-Under Armour contract runs through 2025. Under Armour’s current financial situations aside (that’s a topic for another day), nothing can be done about that contract until it expires.
Could Harsin encourage Auburn to sign with Nike after the deal is up? Absolutely. And I don’t think he would be the only coach on campus to do so.
But no, Harsin can’t change the uniform manufacturer just because he wants to.
But what about his time at Arkansas State? What about that 2013 matchup?
Oh, this one?
When Gus Malzahn coached at Arkansas State, he reportedly refused to outfit his team in the new grey alternate jerseys.
When ASU visited Auburn in 2013, they wore those grey tops in spite.
The jerseys were deemed illegal for illegible numbers.
Bryan Harsin was the ASU coach. pic.twitter.com/R3fhwFnq2T
— Clint Richardson (@Clintau24) December 23, 2020
The one where Arkansas State trotted out in “illegal” jerseys that featured illegible numbers and were penalized for them?
Yea, that has nothing to do with Harsin’s aesthetic tastes. If anything at all, it just shows that he is (possibly) a rather petty guy.
So what, if anything, will Bryan Harsin be able to change aesthetically?
Honestly? Very little.
And once again, that’s on purpose. Branding is important for any organization and Auburn takes their branding very seriously.
If every new coach at Auburn was able to make changes as they pleased, then it wouldn’t be the Auburn University brand anymore.
Harsin and the other coaches do have the opportunity to build and change their own personal branding. Gene Chizik had the jacket-thing, Gus Malzahn had the visor and sweater vest. PJ Fleck has the button-down and tie (and Row the Boat). Bill Belichick has the cutoff hoodie.
Coaches don’t indulge in creating their own brand like you see a lot of players doing (and many schools are now working directly with their student-athletes to build their brands). But, that may change one day.
What can we expect to see Bryan Harsin wear on gamedays?
Auburn coaches of late have really loved their go-to apparel choices. I personally hated laying the Malzahn Vest & Visor Tracker to rest with his dismissal last month. But will Harsin fill in that gap? It’s tough to say.
Looking through photos of his time at Arkansas State and Boise, Harsin wore a number of different styles on the sideline – hoodie, jacket, polo, quarter-zip; myriad of ball cap designs or no hat at all.
Despite the difference in weather from Boise to Auburn, I don’t know how much things will change for Harsin’s wardrobe. Expect polos and some light jackets towards the tail end of the season would be my initial guess. I don’t foresee Harsin being like Chizik and Malzahn in regards to a preferred apparel choice.
Moral of the story here is that, in today’s brand-centric world, a head coach doesn’t have as much leverage as you might think to make changes on an aesthetic level. You may see some small tweaks here and there (and know that I’ll cover it if it happens), but I wouldn’t place money on Auburn trotting out an alternate uniform solely because of the new man running things.
Boise played the uniform game long before Bryan Harsin was head coach and will continue to do so without him. The same has been true at Oregon and the majority of schools that sport a number of different looks on the gridiron.
At the very core of it all, it’s a school decision. And Auburn has shown great resilience in refusing to jump on the popular trend and play the uniform game.
Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. When people discuss the positives or negatives of hundreds of uniform combinations, Auburn is bound to be listed alongside Alabama and others for seeing success without participating.
“But it helps in recruiting!” you may say, and that’s not entirely true either. Numerous sites have discussed the numbers on that topic. You can also look directly at the College Football Playoffs every year and see that, of the eleven teams to ever make an appearance, Oregon has made one such appearance while Alabama and Clemson have made six.
But beyond that, you can’t put such a broad blanket statement on what an 18-year-old kid wants out of his playing career. Does one player want to wear the Oregon uniforms and go home with a ton of gear? Sure, that’s his choice. Could another player want to go to Alabama and the single uniform approach means nothing to him? Absolutely.
Did I miss anything? Leave a comment and let’s discuss what you think Bryan Harsin’s impact on Auburn uniforms and aesthetics could be!
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