The alternative jerse.? is becoming the alternate revenue source not just for professional teams, but for colleges, and even some elite high schools these days as well. Change the look, create another revenue source for the school, and maybe some good luck as well. In recent weeks, even the hallowed traditions at Army have taken a twist, with camo un.s followed by all black with black helmets for their game against Air Force. While no one has seen a change yet for Alabama or Penn State, there is no doubt somewhere as schools look to generate revenue, the decision or the question of a new look has had to have come up.
Now not all changes are a money grab to fill the coffers or offset costs. Some have taken to using the change as a way to generate awareness and dollars for cause-related events. The latest and boldest move took place this past weekend (and will continue in a few weeks), where Under Armour outfitted some of their key schools with huge national exposur.Texas Tech and Utah specificall. in full camouflage uniforms for the second straight year.
The goal for the uniform change was to honor the U.S. Armed Forces on a national platform in the week leading up to Vetera.s Day, a continuing Under Armour tradition, with an auction to follo0w and proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization that provides programs and services for injured service members and their families.
Maybe it was a bit garish, maybe for some in conjures up a vision of the University of Miami showing up in fatigues to battle Notre Dame for the national championship back in the day, maybe for some it is too much of a break with tradition. However one would be hard to argue that the cause-based approach at a time when athletics is seen as more and more as a bring revenue at all cost approach, is a solid one, and one which should be emulated by others. Th. University of Maryland will also wear the camo un.s in the coming weeks, with an auction for all to follow and all the money going to the project, along with all the requisite fan apparel sold at bookstore to support the project. At a time when more and more injured young people are returning home and facing a difficult battle to re-enter civilian life, the program created both awareness and generated revenue, awareness which will hopefully translate into other ancillary funds and programs for the young vets.
Now it is no small undertaking to outfit and then orchestrate such a program for a major college team in a time when brand awareness and consistency in a brand across a university landscape is a multi-million dollar undertaking. There are probably universities that would also pass on the program and forgo the exposure and the charity aspect, taking the safety over the risk. Football is also a superstitious sport, so rocking the tradition (and Utah did get rocked by TCU, while Texas tech upset Missouri) can also be an issue.
However for those choosing to work with whomever their apparel company is to make the change and raise both awareness and funds, the move can be life altering. Not for those who wear the uniforms for a Saturday, but for those who benefit from the program. While many can fault.big time athletic. for many issues today, anyone would be hard pressed to fault Under Armour or their participating schools for anything but positive spin and awareness last week, an outcome which far outweighs the results on the field, at least for a week.
