Nike presents new look for Fighting Illini

Last night at Krannert, Nike and the University of Illinois unveiled the new branding scheme for Illini athletics.

Photo galleries are here and here.

For a emotional take on what this represents, head to IlliniBoard.

To evaluate these, I think you need to start with the colors.

I'm very pleased with the orange, blue, white and grey. The orange and blue feels like what we've always had in a good way. And yet it feels a bit stronger, modern, when you have the textures and new fonts and other touches. Very happy they didn't bastardize the orange and turn in into a neon, like Nike has done with other schools.

As for the font and logos...I'm moderately pleased.

I'll start with the logos. I'm really happy that the block I we know and love is still the main logo. And the "Victory Shield" is a strong addition as a secondary logo. It fits nicely on the football collar and basketball belt.

The font...I'm happy that it's a custom font. It's something we own now. I don't mind the two-tone as long as it's on a white background. I don't mind the serifs that make the I's look like 1s. The font may not be exactly what I would have picked, but it's pretty good. I'm less impressed with the numbers. But it is what it is.

It's a decent base to work from. At least it's ownable.

So let's look at the basketball uniforms.

Those look pretty sharp. I like all four. The grey is a different look, but it's a good one. First observation...they all say Illinois. No mention of Illini or Fighting Illini. There was a lot of buzz about how Fighting Illini was going to be a big deal. So far, no. Someone on the message boards said that a Fighting Illini jersey of some sort will be coming in the next year.

Well that about sums it up for basketball, moving on–

What the fuck is that!? So yeah, there's a giant zig zag on the sides. Not really featured in the official photos or presentation. Just sort of there. This is really the only piece that makes me pause. Initial reaction is that it seems very 90's. But I'll reserve judgement until I see it in action. But...wow.

Anyways, moving on to football.

No complaints. Love the helmets, mettalic, matte, stripes. Love the shield on the collar.

They have some subtle vertical striping as a nod to Red Grange era uniforms. You can really only see it well on the blue one. We'll have to see how it looks on the field.

You can see other sports in the photo galleries.

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Because I couldn't help it. I wanted to see what the basketball jerseys would look like with Fighting Illini on them. The following are fake mockups, not real in any way.

I'm just saying.