In today’s world of Instagram selfies and Twitter avatars, one could argue that individual appearance has become infinitely more important to American youth than it ever was before.
Take one look on any social media site, and you’re likely to see the product of more collective man-hours from selfie-taking and selfie-editing than went into the construction of the Empire State Building.
And as trends tend to do, it’s flowed along the mainstream into the river of money that is college athletics.
But that’s no secret.
Anybody who follows college football has likely noticed teams such as the Oregon Ducks, who, through its lucrative deal with Nike, roll into the stadium with a new uniform almost every game.
These uniforms range from awesome to horrifying on a week-to-week basis.
But the fact that the sports industry is a copycat business coupled with the fact that the Ducks have attracted some of the most talented recruiting classes in the past 10 years means other schools were destined to follow suit.
In 2013 about 40 Football Bowl Subdivision schools announced uniform changes, according to ESPN.
That’s more changes than ever before, hinting at the idea that aesthetic changes to a college program such as these may be more important than many people in the sports world originally thought.
Websites analyzing uniform trends have recently become popular.
The most popular of those sites, uniformcritic.com , was founded just a year ago in June 2013 and logged about 80,000 page visits in July.
So at this point, arguing that uniforms don’t matter to people is just silly.
Don’t take my word for it, though. For a clear example, you need look no further than right here in ?Bloomington.
In the 2013 offseason, the Hoosiers’ football program unveiled its new uniforms to widespread acclaim from players and fans alike.
Some feature chrome and red helmets, while others display the Indiana state flag.
They’re a far cry from the traditional cream and crimson uniforms the team has donned in the past, but at the same time, they offer a breath of fresh air that has the potential to reach further than just aesthetics.
In the tradition-heavy Big Ten conference, uniforms such as these could be a difference-maker in IU nabbing some of the state’s better in-state talent against teams such as Purdue and Illinois, which have yet to update their more traditional looks.
Uniforms may never be as important to prospective recruits as coaching, facilities or academic reputation, but for a program with as little history of success as IU Football, they serve a different purpose.
They show potential recruits the team is serious about its direction, demonstrating a commitment to a change of the status quo.
The head honchos in the IU athletic department are smart. They know they don’t have the same luxury as Notre Dame or Texas of selling the program’s history.
What they can do, though, is sell the program’s future.
By putting all this money and hype into the new uniforms, it should give more recruits the impression the past is in the past, and the Hoosiers’ leadership is serious about the success of the program because they have so much invested in both the team and the players.
And in the end, as a recruit, isn’t that exactly what you want to see?
