Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders to don new uniforms this season

With the Texas Tech athletic department currently negotiating with apparel companies to decide who the next supplier of athletic wear for the university, plenty of Red Raider fans have been thinking about uniforms and what the potential of new suppliers might mean as far as what the Texas Tech teams look like on the field or court.

While we are anticipating any day now news on whether Tech will stick with Under Armour or go with another company such as Nike or Adidas, we know that for the remainder of this school year, UA uniforms will be what the Red Raiders sport.

Wednesday, the Texas Tech basketball program released images of new Under Armour uniform designs.  In fact, four different uniform combinations were shown to the public and all three have massive changes to them.

What is different about the new Texas Tech basketball uniforms

Showing off a white, red, and black uniform, in one post the new looks were modeled by Pop Isaacs, Nevada transfer Darrion Williams, and West Virginia transfer Joe Touissant.  It appears that each new look is a step toward simplifaction, a change of pace from what Under Armour has provided in the past.

The most noticeable difference on the white and red uniforms is that the word “Texas” sits above the number on the front of the jersey while the word “Tech” sits below.  That’s an old-school design that harkens back to earlier eras of college basketball with larger letting in a block-style format.

Also helping give the uniforms a throw-back feel is the fact that the word “Texas” curves around the top of the number.  That may remind some of the uniforms worn in the greatest basketball movie of all-time, “Hoosiers”.

Meanwhile, the black uniform is a bit more modern.  The words “Red Raiders” is displayed in a straight line across the chest, above the number.  In that design, the lettering is smaller, which is a modern design trend.

What might be the most satisfying about all three of these new tops is that the coloring of the collars appears to be the same on the front and the back of the jersey.  In recent years, Tech’s primary uniforms have had one color around the collar on the front of the jerseys while on the back of the tops, the coloring did not go around the collar but instead around the shoulders.

That was a design choice that many Red Raiders didn’t care for.  It made the uniforms appear a bit too busy and futuristic, a common criticism of Under Armour designs.

Last season, Tech also had two alternate uniforms.  The first was a red uniform that had “Red Raiders” spelled out in script font above the number.

Meanwhile, the second was a gray uniform with “Tech” written in block lettering above the number.  Though many Red Raider fans are not fond of gray Texas Tech uniforms, this particular look was solid because it had a simplicity to it that also gave it a throwback vibe.

The new shorts also have taken steps toward simplicity.  All three looks have a solid accent-colored stripe that runs down the side of the shorts and around the bottom seam in the front.  Also, all three have a Double T embroidered on the left leg.

If you are a fan of actual throwbacks to uniforms that Tech has worn in previous eras, you might be excited by a different social media post that the Texas Tech basketball program put out on Wednesday.  In a post that showed some behind-the-scenes images of a photoshoot, the entire team was wearing black uniforms that have “Texas” written above “Tech” with both being placed above the number.

That’s a look that was worn by the program in the Bob Knight era of the 2000s.  Such stars as Andre Emmett, Martin Zeno, and Jarrius Jackson all starred in that uniform design while helping rebuild the program under Knight’s watch.

However, the modern take on those uniforms has a wider red stripe going down the side than the Knight-era uniforms did.  The current stripe on the throwback shorts also has three alternating white and black lines pointing upward like triangles.  That’s not necessarily a great design feature but it doesn’t take away the greatness of that overall look, especially for those of us who came of age as Red Raider fans when Knight was head coach.

It would make sense for Tech to get new uniforms this year given that there is a new coach in charge.  How much Grant McCasland had to do with these uniform changes is unknown.  What is also unknown is whether this will be the final season that Under Armour will be Tech’s uniform provider.

What we do know is that these new uniforms are a welcome change.  Of course, it doesn’t really matter what the Red Raiders wear as long as McCasland and Co. rack up the wins.  Still, it is always exciting to see new threads unveiled and Wednesday’s sneak peak was yet another reminder that basketball season is fast approaching.