Indiana is well aware the uniforms worn by the basketball team on Sunday afternoon against Northwestern were unpopular in the eyes of a significant portion of the fan base.
Count coach Mike Woodson in the group of people who prefers IU’s traditional look. But the third-year leader of the men’s basketball program says he didn’t have a voice when it came to the attire worn by his team over the weekend.
“I have no control over that. I’m about wearing our white uniforms at home like we’ve done for 40 something years when I was here,” Woodson told radio voice Don Fischer. “That was kind of out of my hands. We won’t wear that uniform again the rest of the season. I had nothing to do with it and I’m the head coach.”
So who did decide to have the Hoosiers wear those dark grey Fear of God brand uniforms?
Fischer suggested it was a requirement under Indiana’s contract with adidas.
Deputy Director of Athletics Stephen Harper, a special guest on the Monday evening radio show, didn’t go that far, but he did say the uniforms were the brainchild of adidas.
“You know, adidas has been a good partner for us in the department, and from time to time, they do like to bring special products that they think will excite the players, excite recruits, those kinds of things,” Harper told Fischer.
Indiana and adidas have rolled out a few different alternative looks over the last few years. But they have no plans to replace the standard attire IU fans hold near and dear.
“We (IU Athletics) are as traditional as the fans are,” Harper said. “We like the traditional uniforms.
“Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We heard a lot from fans that didn’t necessarily love those, which we understand. We don’t plan on moving away from the traditional look of Indiana basketball, which, again, means a lot to us.”
This isn’t the last you’ll see of this latest alternative, however. The uniforms Indiana wore on Sunday will be worn by the women’s team on Thursday when they host Iowa.
And while they generated a bit of a negative uproar from a segment of the fan base, they were not universally unpopular.
“I was there when they had the unveiling (of the uniforms) to the players,” Harper said. “The Fear of God brand that adidas is partnering with is very hip, cool with students.
“I meet a lot of our recruits as they come in to tell them about the opportunities that we have in the department, and you’ll see a lot of our recruits wearing that brand. So I think it’s meaningful to them, even thought it’s not meaningful to everyone else.”
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