-----Original Message-----
From: 	McConnell, Mark  
Sent:	Monday, March 04, 2002 3:07 PM
To:	Hyatt, Kevin; Judy and Jim McConnell (E-mail)
Subject:	New Uniforms for the other Big Red


http://www.journalstar.com/nebraska?story_id=5830&past= 
Brace yourselves, Nebraska football fans. The Huskers will feature a different look this coming season. 
No, Nebraska isn't switching to a pass-oriented attack. 
The Huskers, however, are in the midst of a significant change in uniform style. 
Although the details have yet to be finalized, the planned modifications will be the most extreme in several years. 
"It'll be the most significant change since I've been here," said Nebraska assistant equipment manager Mike Mason, who has been with the Huskers since 1988. 
Said Nebraska Coach Frank Solich: "There are certainly some noticeable changes, but the players seem to like the idea. And if you look around at pro and college teams, you see some changes." 
In Nebraska's case, Mason said, the most significant modifications will be in its road uniforms. The Huskers will wear white jerseys with a red strip around the collar and a red spandex insert - or gusset - down the sides. 
Mason said adidas - which has had a partnership with Nebraska to provide the Huskers with uniforms, shoes, etc., since the mid-1990s - would prefer the Huskers wear white pants with a 4-inch red stripe down the sides for both home and away contests (NU typically wears white pants with red jerseys at home and red pants with white jerseys on the road). But several players, Mason said, have expressed interest in wearing red pants with red jerseys for home games. 
"This isn't over yet," Mason said of the decision-making process. 
Some Nebraska fans may wince at the thought of a red-on-red combination. 
The last time the Huskers trotted onto the field at Memorial Stadium with that color scheme was in November 1986 for a game against nemesis Oklahoma. NU lost 20-17. 
The new home jerseys would be red with white piping down both sides of the red spandex insert. 
Solich said any remaining changes will probably be minor and will be subject to a vote of the team's Unity Council, made up of representatives from each position. 
Examples of the new uniforms are hanging in Nebraska's equipment room near the Husker locker room at Memorial Stadium. Because they're not the final versions, Solich requested they not be photographed. 
Solich said adidas representatives approached Husker officials in December about possible alterations, as is the case most every year. Although Solich discussed the changes with his assistant coaches, he mostly left the style decisions to the players, he said. 
"It'll certainly be different, but the colors will still be red and white - there will be no third color - and there will be no change whatsoever in the helmets," said Solich, who last season guided Nebraska to an 11-2 record in his fourth season as head coach. "Some things we just won't mess with." 
Pat Logsdon, Nebraska's director of football operations, likes the new uniforms. "I think they're nice-looking, and the guys love them," she said. 
Mason, though, was less enthusiastic. 
"I'm not sure the fans will like it," he said. "I don't necessarily like it." 
Added Solich, "Some fans don't ever want any change. Some do." 
The planned changes might come as a surprise to some fans, considering the importance Nebraska typically places on tradition. The new uniforms would be a departure from the simplicity in dress exhibited by such storied programs as Penn State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama, to name a few. 
"I think the uniforms we had were fine," Solich said. "I think our coaches felt that way, too. But you always want to be open to change, especially if the players feel like they'd like to make a change - as long as it doesn't totally back away from Nebraska's tradition."





Mark McConnell
Transwestern Pipeline Company
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