Michael McDermott/Collegiate Times
The Virginia Tech football team showed off its new threads yesterday at the University Bookstore.
As part of Nike’s Rivalry Series, the Hokies will wear special all-black uniforms for one game: next Monday against Boise State.
The Hokies are one of 10 teams that will wear the uniforms, which are part of Nike’s innovative Pro Combat design.
They were also part of the original Pro Combat series last season, when they wore an all-white uniform against Maryland and Virginia.
Boise State will also take part in the series, wearing silver jerseys with blue pants on Monday night.
Each participating team had the final say on the design of the uniforms. Each uniform is unique to its respective school.
The Hokies’ jerseys have orange numbers with a special pattern that represents the technological background of the university.
The numbers are also accented in gray, which combined with the black honors the original colors of the university from over a century ago.
They will also wear black helmets next Monday, with an orange “VT” logo on each side and a maroon stripe that fades to orange down the center.
Similar to last year’s outfit, the neckline of the jerseys features the phrase “Ut Prosim,” meaning “That I May Serve,” the official motto of the university.
The team will also wear new orange cleats.
There were only 460 replica jerseys sent to the school, which were split evenly across the University Bookstore, Volume Two Bookstore and the official Bookstore website.
Bookstore officials expected the jerseys to sell out by today.
The replica jerseys were rolled out at exactly 10 a.m. at the on-campus site, where a crowd of more than 40 students eagerly awaited.
Management had to place tape over the windows on the storage room doors to after customers tried to sneak a peek.
“We felt it was important to do what Nike told us to do, which was to not reveal them before 10 o’clock,” said Steve Glosh, assistant director for University Bookstore.
Also on sale are special black T-shirts, football gloves, and caps with the same theme as the uniforms.
In addition, the Student Government Association has made special black T-shirts with “Ut Prosim” on the front and the “VT” logo on the back, along with the date and time of the Boise State game.
Those shirts are part of a movement to “Black Out” Monday’s game, encouraging fans attending to wear black to FedEx Field.
Among the other schools taking part in the Rivalry series include Alabama, Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, TCU and West Virginia. Each school will wear the uniforms for a specially designated game.
According to HokieSports.com, both the men’s basketball and baseball team will also wear a special uniform at some point during their seasons honoring the corps of cadets.
A version of this article appeared in the Sep 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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What a jerky comment. Take a history class, fool.
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It's funny because it's true.
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C'mon guys - get along - any and all schools would love to be picked to wear one of the Nike uniforms - I love football season, it brings out all kinds of people!!! GO HOKIES!!
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What it brings out is that the institution of higher loves dumping tons of money on things that don't matter like sports instead of things that matter like you know education and it just keeps everyone stupid and distracted. WAY TO GO THE DUDE IN THE TIGHT PANTS IS HUGGING THE OTHER DUDE LIKE HE'S ABOUT TO SQUIRT OUT A DIAMOND! FRANKIE IS A PIMP IN THE NEGATIVE SENSE OF THE WORD.
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Black is an appropriate color since you guys are probably be in mourning after your loss to a 1-AA team. And when that happens I will drive up to your campus and point and laugh at you guys.
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"Are probably be in mourning"? Maybe your school should worry more about educating people like you.
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Are you even old enough to have a driver's licence? Or are you going to tear yourself away from your Wii, climb out of your mom's basement and ask her for a ride?
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It is going to be fun coming back to this thread after you guys lose to a 1-AA community college team.
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Hey, genius, Boise State is ranked third in the AP Poll and is a 2 1/2 point favorite. They're SUPPOSED to beat us. What's funny is that as an alumnus of Virginia Tech I know why I'M reading the CT. Why are you?
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What is this "movement" to black out the stadium? I live in NOVA, have tickets to the game, and would have had no clue to wear black if I hadn't stumbled on to this story.
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I recall they changed the uniform colors a few years ago with one sleeve being a different color than the other to replicate what Marcus Vick was doing on the field to his uniform.
I don't like this new look. Black is a hoodlum color for uniforms.
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These uniforms are the most G## awful looking things that Tech has worn since they came out of the tunnel years ago in all orange. Beamer said that those uniforms would be burned and I hope that these go on the same pile.
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They will after you guys lose to Boise State Community College
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Both schools are beholding to Nike. It's all about revenue. The best-looking Hokie uniforms are the classic shoulder stripes as seen on this website's photo shoot. This "combat" design is clearly geared toward a video-game feel. It's an ugly design, and there is no argument for them as anything but ugly. (pun there.) If UVA was wearing these every Hokie would be laughing. Sadly, the price of big-time football (pro minor league teams, really) is tradition is often trumped for revenue, to keep the infrastructure fueled. Nike has made Oregon the joke of the PAC 10. By comparison, UCLA sticks with their fantastic blue-and-gold design each year. That Tech signed off on these exposes the obvious: coaches should stick to play-calling.
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It's not about coaches making the decision ... it's administration. I guarantee no coach said "yea, that sounds like a good idea", because they're not involved in those decisions.
It's money, plain and simple. And ugly.
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Aren't these colors a one time deal and not going to be worn at any other time during the year?
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It's pretty sad that Jim Weaver has sold the soul of Virginia Tech to Nike. The uniforms are hideous, no doubt about it. They could have at least waited until another game to break them out. We have what is basically a home game for us with many recruits and fans attending and we are wearing black? I don't care what our colors used to be a decade ago, we are MAROON and ORANGE!!!
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Good to wear Nike since every Nike sale helps Phil Knight (Nike) drop more $$$ on the U of Oregon.
GO DUCKS
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