Image Overhaul ... The Oregon Way
by jfreudenthal on Sep 8, 2011 12:03 PM EDT
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Below is an interesting article that I found that discusses Oregon's recent success in football and how it's mostly related to their uniforms and their association with Nike.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6909937/how-does-oregon-football-keep-winning
CJF is pushing recruits with some valid points (world class education, great city atmoshere, SEC football, playing time) however, just as he did with getting the locker room upgraded the next step, in my mind there are two necessary subjects that Vice Chancellor Williams should push funding for:
Indoor practice facilities and new uniform designs - After the Jump
(1) I know that we don't have a lot of real estate for additional facilities. However, I don't see how it would be a problem to turn our current practice facilities into an indoor site. Seriously, how hard can it be? Yes, the football and soccer teams may be put out for a season but there are plenty of facilities in the vicinity of Vanderbilt's campus for them to continue practice until the project is completed. It's not like we're asking for a new stadium to be built. We're just asking to install a steel framed roof on our current facilities!
(2) If we can successfully reach out to Nike to personally design a new uniform collection for Vandy just imagine the impact we would have on potential recruits. The old guys can say what they want but kids pick schools for reasons other than potential championships. Kids in this day of age care more about how they look doing what they love and that's done by media coverage and equipment/uniforms. I've known of some recruits who pick schools based on facilities, logos, colors, and even brand (ie Nike vs. Adidas vs. Under Armor). We need to embrace that concept and make it our philosphy to attrack the best and the brightests kids in every way possible.
Plus, I've always wanted to see a two-tone black-n-gold helmet design similar to San Diego State's helmet with black fading into gold and our beautiful Star-n-V logo on the side.
Finally, I loved the black uniforms that Oregon rocked against LSU in the Cowboys Classic game. Imagine those uniforms with gold lettering, Star-n-V logos, and numbers instead of neon green = Pimp!!!
Go' Dores...Anchor Down!!!
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Uniforms are a possibility...
I’m not exactly crazy about the current ones, although it could be worse. The worst thing would be to wind up like Maryland – they had a significant win Monday night and all anyone is talking about is their vomitrocious attire – but we might could use a bit of a punch-up. Definitely don’t want to get into the “new uniform every week” look, though – even someplace like Cal which just has three colors each of jersey and pants can get ridiculous with mix-and-match (and NO SOLID GOLD UNIFORM EVER PLZ KTHX).
Actually, of the setup we have now, what are people fond of? I know we tend to go with gold jerseys at home a lot, but in my mind’s eye I always seem to remember solid black at home. I like the gold top and white pants but it looks a little too Georgia Tech these days…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Sep 8, 2011 2:42 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I think you're wrong about Maryland
Well, you’re not wrong that the uniforms were hideous, but you’re wrong that people talking about Maryland uniforms on Monday is a bad thing. Can you remember the last time Maryland football was a national story in the regular season? Sure, the uniforms are the headline, but that headline goes right along with the fact that Maryland won the game.
Also, the local buzz is that players and, more importantly, recruits loved the Maryland uniforms. They loved the pregame uniforms, the game uniforms, and, most of all, the fact that Under Armor is designing special uniforms just for the Terps. Kevin Plank might not be Phil Knight – at least not yet – but don’t underestimate his ability to help his alma mater attract recruits.
Unfortunately, Vanderbilt does not have a Phil Knight or Kevin Plank. But I agree that getting Nike – or even a Chinese manufacturer of cheap Nike knockoffs – to design new uniforms for Vanderbilt would be great if it generated some buzz for the program.
I wouldn't mind a one-off or a throwback
But I like Vandy’s uniforms right now. If we’re not pioneering the crazy shit era like Oregon, I don’t know how much it benefits the team to jump on the bandwagon.
Facilities upgrades, though? Absolutely. Oregon’s locker room is the nicest place I’ve ever seen on tv, and I’ve watched every episode of The O.C.!
by Christian D'Andrea on Sep 8, 2011 3:28 PM EDT reply actions
Dear God No...
I’m sorry y’all but this is the SEC where we have class and tradition (unless you’re Georgia, apparently). The Star-V on the helmet is one of the crispest and best looking helmets in all of college sports (not exaggerating) and I would be incredibly sad if we sold out our identity to Nike or another outfitter, allowed them to control our look and, frankly, the very image of our program in a misguided attempt to make ourselves look “kickass” to a bunch of 17 year olds.
I know they’ve got history on us, but look at Alabama, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Auburn. They don’t need to dress up like Power Rangers or astronauts to have successful programs. Oregon has made the uni-shuffle their thing, and that’s fine as they were the first to the party, but EVERY school is doing this now in an attempt to get in on the action (see Arizona State, Maryland, Oklahoma State, etc.) and even more schools wearing those ridiculous Nike Pro Combat clown uniforms.
I don’t think that uniforms are the only thing that define a program, but they are certainly a factor, and I for one would much rather be in line with a refined classic look than a flashy, gaudy ever-changing parade at the end of which you aren’t even associated with the school anymore. When was the last time you saw Oregon wear their real school colors?
Honestly, the school we should be modeling is Stanford. They haven’t used marketing gimmicks or sold themselves out to uniform manufacturers to make their football program one of the best in the nation.
Change is needed. The question is how far are we willing to go?
I agree with several points. My argument is that 6-star programs like Bama, Texas, USC, and ND don’t have to fight for recruits. They have the best in facilities, alumni, fan base, and most importantly they can accept anyone who meets the NCAA minimum admission standards. We don’t have that luxury. Lets not forget that Vandy is the sole private institution in the SEC who has academic standards that far exceed the NCAAs requirement. Minus our new locker room, football-wise we have the worst facilities in the conference. Vandy needs to match their commitment to football as they have with basketball and baseball and do a complete overhaul of our facilities.
Now, on to the uniform debate. I love the Star-n-V logo and think Vandy should keep it. I don’t hate our current uniforms and was very grateful when they arrived back in ‘08. However, I do think it’s time for a change. Even our current players have commented on wanting new ones. I love certain combinations of our current uniform. For example: black on black. white on white, white tops/black pants, black tops/gold pants, and even the gold jerseys don’t look bad with the black pants. The gold jerseys do look too much like GA Tech and UCF though! Also, our helmet doesn’t go well with our uniforms. I’m not saying we should go the complete way of the Ducks and have over 500 combinations of uniforms or copy the Pro Combat Uniforms of Boise St. and Va Tech. I do say that something custom made to compliment Vandy’s excellent color scheme and logos as well as be tasteful and something the Vandy alums can be proud of is not too much to ask for. Finally, I don’t know about you but I can’t stand the names on the back of the jersey but get why they did it. Kids love to see their name out there on TV. I’d rather go back to the Star-n-V logo on the back. Or at least match the same color white as the numbers. Also, is it just me or has anyone else noticed the names are huge on the jerseys and need to be smaller as to not clutter up the back of the players?
Like it or not, 17-20 year old kids play this game and represent Vanderbilt. Their priorities are different that ours as fans, alums, and Vandy supporters. We just want to see a successful product that we can be proud of. They want more than that. They want to look good doing it. They want the MTV Cribs style atmosphere. The big programs get it. We need to get onboard and follow suit if we ever hope to hold up a bowl trophy that matters.
“It’s time that this football program starts reflecting everything else on this campus…and that’s a commitment to excellence. No part of this program will settle. Everything we do will be about championships!” – CJF
Go ’Dores…Anchor Down!!!
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