Indiana University Athletics Director Fred Glass has announced that Indiana Football will return player last names to the back of their jerseys.
The program had removed names from the jerseys last year to follow the lead of all IU’s other varsity sports and IU’s Brand and Uniform Guidelines.
That 2018 decision was met with disappointment by some fans and former players.
I will just say that for kids coming to college, one of the greatest feelings is being able to represent your family out on that field along with your team. Especially for guys who are first generation college students or first to play a college sport in there family…that’s all https://t.co/35WYEToshB
— Rashard Fant (@RashardFant) August 28, 2018
The 2019 season kicks off on August 31 against Ball State at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. IU’s home opener is September 7 against Eastern Illinois.
Glass’ statement (via iuhoosiers.com) is below:
“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,” Glass said. “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.”
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