It wasn’t long ago that some Tennessee fans were so dismayed by alternate uniforms that they left a game in progress. Now, new jerseys are celebrated like the arrival of the Allied Forces in World War II.
Let’s think about this for a second. What is different? That’s easy. The Vols are winning. Forget grey. Tennessee could wear purple to an enthused fan base if the Vols’ football team can match what its baseball team did, which was win a national championship.
New uniforms, as the Vols released artwork on Saturday, will always be in vogue for two reasons. First, there’s more money to be made with alternate jerseys to sell. Then, there’s recruiting, which the Vols new looks have surely helped land a prospect or two. New jerseys are great, right? The reaction was incredibly positive on social media. That wasn’t always the case.
Many Tennessee fans nearly revolted when the Vols deviated from the traditional orange and white for black in 2009. In retrospect, those jerseys looked like a middle school junior varsity team, so there was reason to be downtrodden over the new look. Nevertheless, many fans questioned how much longer they could be loyal to a team that wasn’t even loyal to its own colors. Now in 2024, that seems like ancient history.
The Vols and their fans have accepted grey and black jerseys, the latter being the drape of choice for Game Three of the College World Series finals. No one was complaining about what the Vols were wearing during Tennessee’s national championship parade. And if there’s one thing for sure in college football, nothing is slowing down when it comes to major changes in the sport.
NIL and the transfer portal have been topics of conversation in the evolution of college football, which is occurring at a pace that makes Josh Heupel’s offense look slow. However, those changes also should have opened an astute fan’s mind. Players should be paid. They should be allowed to transfer. And – if you want your school to make more money and be more successful – Tennessee should produce as many jerseys as they can sell and add however many variations needed to keep recruits excited about the Vols.
No, it hasn’t been that long since new, off-color jerseys were a massive debate at Tennessee. However, things have changed so quickly with the Vols that it sometimes seems like an entirely different athletic department. The good news is they’re better. The better news is that they’re not wearing those hideous unis they donned back in 2009.
