After a season in which no names were inscribed on IU football jerseys, that will no longer be the case for the 2019-20 season, an IU Athletics press release said.
Last season, IU football chose to follow the path of all other IU sports teams, as well as follow its Brand and Uniform Guidelines, and removed the last names of the players on their jerseys.
There was no replacement such as "Indiana,” or “Hoosiers,” on the back of the jersey.
But when the season kicks off Aug. 31, 2019 against Ball State University in Lucas Oil Stadium, the names will once again be on the backs of the IU football jerseys.
“After listening to feedback from a variety of sources, particularly from our fans, I believe it is the right decision to return to an exception for football to our tradition of not having players' names on our uniforms,” IU Athletic Director Fred Glass said in the press release. “I have come to understand that, taken together, the unique qualities of football including the size of the competition venue, the distance most of our fans from the field of play, the large number of players, and the use of duplicate numbers, as a practical matter call for the return of the players' names to our football uniforms not withstanding our continuing philosophy of team over self.”
