Will OSU’s black uniform be worn this season?
Published: 9/24/2010 4:46 PM
Last Modified: 9/24/2010 4:46 PM
For last year’s home game against Colorado, Oklahoma State wore black uniforms for the first time since 1994.
Cowboy players and recruits say they love the Nike-designed black uniform. In a July survey of Big 12 players who attended the league’s Media Days session in Irving, Texas, the OSU black uniform was voted the most attractive uniform in the conference.
During OSU’s current pregame video, many of the highlights involve Cowboys clad in the black uniform.
At the Chris’ University Spirit apparel shop in Stillwater, the hottest-selling jersey is the black. It’s not the orange or the white. An employee said the shop sells more than twice as many black jerseys as orange ones, and six times more black ones than white ones.
On Twitter, I asked OSU fans whether they like the black uniforms and whether they want to see the Cowboys wear them again this season. About 80 percent of the respondents indicated that they do like the black uniform and would be in favor of having it become a once-a-year alternative look.
In spite of knowing the facts and figures related to the black uniform, OSU coach Mike Gundy and athletic director Mike Holder don’t seem interested in having their football players wear them again.
Because of its identity as an orange school, OSU can’t wear black for the Nebraska homecoming game or the Bedlam home showdown with Oklahoma. That would leave next week’s Texas A&M contest as being the most prominent remaining date on the home schedule. A&M-OSU is televised by ESPN. It’s a major opportunity for OSU to market the black uniform.
“Talk to Holder. Ask coach Holder what he wants to do on that,” Gundy said. “To be honest with you, I’ve never worried about that. I’ve never thought about it. Any time you bring up anything other than wearing an orange jersey at home, you just get barraged with (correspondence from) the traditional Oklahoma State fans that don’t like it.
“We don’t have any black in the plans this year. There is no plan for any black jerseys.”
Holder says Gundy is the one and only authority on uniform decisions.
Is Gundy being coy? Is he tight-lipped in an attempt to preserve the surprise of another black-uniform game? Or will the black uniform remain in storage?
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
