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Oregon Has A Style All Its Own

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Trying to guess what uniform combination Oregon will wear each game is about as easy as predicting the lottery.

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By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 29, 2007

Updated: 12/28/2007 11:13 pm

EL PASO, Texas - Trying to guess what uniform combination Oregon will wear each game is about as easy as predicting the lottery.

While there are a number of college football traditions - Ohio State's dotting the "i," Auburn's War Eagle, Notre Dame's fight song, even Jim Leavitt sprinting before kickoff against a state trooper - none are as popular with the players as Oregon's kaleidoscope of uniforms.

The Ducks have three different helmets (green, yellow and white), four different jersey colors (green, yellow, white and black), and four different pants (green, yellow, white and black). That's 48 different possibilities.

Add in four different sock colors and two shoe colors and the Ducks have 384 different looks. Starting in 2008, Oregon could play 12 games a year through the 2039 season and not wear the same combination twice.

"It's more fun for our players," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "They enjoy it. They say, 'Coach, we only get to dress up once a week, we don't want to wear the same clothes every week.'"

Bellotti and the seniors decide what combinations to wear. In Monday's Sun Bowl against the University of South Florida, the Ducks will wear green helmets, black jerseys and black pants, Oregon spokesman Dave Williford said.

"They have so many different looks," USF kicker Delbert Alvarado said. "It's kind of like a different team every time they take the field. And for us it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

Alvarado said before Monday's game he might go up to Oregon's kickers and start a conversation so he can actually touch the uniform.

Oregon is in the unusual situation of having all the different combinations because of its relationship with Nike and founder Phil Knight, an alum and one of the school's biggest boosters.

"Nike is a tremendous supporter of our program and we can mix and match helmets, jerseys and pants," Bellotti said. "Sometimes it can be confusing for us as coaches because we always wear the same thing and then we see our team come out and it's like 'Oh, that's our team.'"

Against Washington this year, the Ducks went all white - white helmets, jerseys and pants. "We looked like storm troopers," Bellotti said. "But we looked good, we played good and won the game."

Williford said Oregon has been able to use so many different combinations because the program was "receptive to do some things outside the box."

"It certainly garners a lot of attention," Williford said. "A lot of national media say how ugly the uniforms are, but the kids love them. We're doing it for the 18- and 19-year olds. We're very open about that."

Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon said Oregon's fans look forward to see what the Ducks are going to wear each game.

"It's totally up to the seniors and Mike Bellotti," Dixon said. "The seniors take pride in that.

"We're Oregon. We get so much. We have three different helmets. I think it's a big deal for the team. Going out there looking good as well as playing good is something good to see. If you ask me, I love the all white. It makes us look faster. Just having an option for what you wear is great."

USF senior cornerback Ryan Gilliam started his career at Oregon. Back then the Ducks had to suffer with only two choices of colors for their helmets.

"My first game, my first time dressing out, we wore white and yellow," Gilliam said. "My last start in 2004 against Oregon State, we wore white jerseys, black pants and green helmets."

Gilliam said his favorite is the lightning yellow look - yellow jersey, yellow pants and a green helmet.

The Bulls, like the rest of Division I-A schools, have only a limited number of choices. USF has gold helmets and only has a choice between green or white pants and green or white jerseys.

Michigan running back Mike Hart, whose team has one of the most distinguishable helmets in college football, said there will never be any drastic changes from the maize and blue.

"They would never change them," he said. "That won't happen. There's too much tradition. If they tried to change them, there might be a revolt."

USF quarterback Matt Grothe said if there was an award for best-looking jerseys, Oregon would win easily.

"Man, they've got a bunch of combinations," Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason said. "Some of them I like. Some of them I'm like, 'Oooooh. What's that? What were they thinking?' They have a bunch of options. It makes it exciting for their players, their fan base. I'm sure they're going to come up with something and be ready to play.

"Over the past few years, they've created that buzz. Oregon. Nike. Phil Knight. Uniforms. Of course it's the colors. The green. The yellow. The combination. You don't see things like that every day."

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com. Reporter Joey Johnston

contributed to this report.

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