Best 2013 NCAA College Football Uniforms

Let's face it, clothes do matter. What a person puts on their body, says a lot about who they are. American's especially love looking good and feeling comfortable in all the latest trends. The fashion industry is a multibillion dollar industry that continuously grows from one year to the next. It is estimated that Christmas retail sales for this year, will increase a record thirty percent above last year. While last years Christmas sales were a record eleven percent higher than they were in 2011. It may come as no surprise but, NCAA Division I and II football teams are no different, than the rest of us clothes hogs.

• Football players from the University of Nebraska, average yearly costs for their plain Jane, Cornhusker, uniforms are a $1000.00 per player. Most NCAA Division I teams have 125 football players of which, 85 of those players are on an athletic scholarship.

• According to a USA Today report from 2010, the University of Indiana spends on average $200,000.00 on new uniforms and equipment for their college football team. Over half of that cash was spent on player uniforms.

With big time alumni sponsors, sports teams such as the Oregon Ducks and the Maryland Diamondback Terrapins are the exception, when it comes to spending money on new college football uniforms. These two teams showcase a different uniform look, each and every week they step out on to the football field. The donated test uniform trials and equipment changes, are a win win for all parties involved, when it come to making the team look great.

The Ducks

• The mighty Oregon Ducks big time alumni sponsors are Phil Knight, Co-founder of Nike, Inc and Nike, Inc. Co-Founder Bill Bowerman. Bill Bowerman was the head coach of the University of Oregon Track and Field team.

• Bill Bowerman's track and field resume is undeniably the most impressive track and field coaching record to date. He trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers, according to the National Track and Field Hall A Fame.

The Diamondback Terrapin

• The Maryland Diamondback Terrapins alumni sponsor is the Kevin Plank, Founder of Under Armour, Inc. Nike and Under Armour are high end sportswear companies. Both companies also mass produce athletic shoes, clothing and sports equipment.

• According to the Baltimore Sun, as of the Spring of 2011 Kevin Plank had donated a whopping 1.7 million dollars to the University of Maryland athletics.

The 2013 NCAA football season showcased some wicked, college football uniform combinations. The most surprises came from the high side of the football uniform- the helmet. From new face cage designs, tinted visors, helmet colors, high shine to matte finishes; this 2013 football college season was ALL about the football helmet. Some of my own personal favorite new looks were; Auburn's all chrome helmets, Indiana's Red/Chrome striped helmets, and Baylor's high polished gold helmet. With great new looks like these teams featured here, this season's winners and losers, were made or broken by their team's football helmet. With the aid of new materials and better computer graphics capabilities, graphic designers working for helmet manufacturers such as Riddel, were free to let their creative juices flow. For all those football fans who were unable to attend a game this year, believe you me these new helmet designs were well worth the price of admission.

When researching college uniforms, and surfing through other online publications for this article, I came across some disconcerting perspectives. Take for instance Fox Sports, "Best College Football Uniforms" selection. It included powerhouse teams like Auburn but, chose to highlight Auburn's classic uniform look as a best of. Another team topping off the list was the Ohio State Buckeyes' standard uniform. Additional teams featured were the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Georgia Bulldogs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, etc., with their standard football uniform styles making their best of list.

While there is nothing wrong with the same old, same old, traditional, football uniform style, some looks just become dated. All these collegiate football teams listed, have uniforms that have changed very little, over the past decade. Let's just face it- when it comes to football, some men hate change! Especially men, fifty five and older.

• Here are this season's top five NCAA 2013 football uniform changes.

  Counting down from 5 to 1

Number five in my list goes to the Baylor Bears of Texas. The show stopper piece of their uniform was their, “All Gold Everything” helmet. They also made their numbers brighter and more eye popping by changing the font size. They darken the green and added more black into their color matrix. On or off the field, Baylor Bears are a winner here in this Best of NCAA 2013 article.

This year's number four spot goes to the Tennessee Volunteers. Adidas did an outstanding job with their new TECHFIT© uniform design. I have to say that the graphic designers at Adidas, out did themselves this season. The Volunteers new smokin' hot, alternate, uniform- was featured in dark grey.

Man, did it ever make their traditional school colors pop out on the football field. It looked really good up against the backdrop of their checkered end zone. It was a great close up look, and a fantastic uniform color for any LCD flat screen TV. Their new smoky grey uniform was this year's, BEST contrasting colored football uniform by far.

I loved it!

My number three pick goes to a team, which I have never been a fan of, when it came to their collegiate school colors. Nevertheless, this year's number three pick goes to the Mountaineers of West Virginia. I have to give high marks to the Nike designers, who completely reworked and redesigned these new football uniforms. They really look sharp on film.

The designers at Nike, Inc. changed the Mountaineer's number font, as well as unified the school's colors, much like did for the University of Missouri in 2012. Gone are the days where you might see twenty different shades of gold. Nike, Inc. formulated a new color based off their traditional standard color, and tweaked it to give it a twenty first century edge. It made for an amazing transformation. With over twenty seven different uniform combinations, West Virginia has earned its top three spot.

Wow, what a difference subtle changes can make. Look at these new looks, coming out of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina! Because Appalachian State is not a highly ranked team or well known for that matter; these Mountaineers often go unnoticed but, not anymore. I was sitting in a pub, when I first saw these new duds, and I remember saying to myself, "Who the ___ is that?!" Well folks it was the boys of Appalachian State, and they are my number two pick for this year's best 2013 NCAA football uniforms.

Well done Mountaineers, well done! I love the crisp, clean look. The block traditional font stands out nicely on TV but, it is their team message plastered on their backs, which tells all those watching that this team means business.

'ALWAYS ATTACK!'

• Arizona State teamed up with Nike to produce the new, 'Hellfire' athletic sports collection for 2013. Featuring flaming helmets, all black uniforms, and an impressive pitchfork; I picked this team's new uniforms, for Nike's amazing transformation from last year to this year. It is a well put together collage for any collegiate sports team. Every aspect of the uniform was very well executed and planned. Not a detail was missed or a thread out of place. This entire set up is all about making a bold statement, with its high impacting colors, bold pitchfork features, clearer number and lettering fonts, and far out helmet designs. I love this entire collection. It definitely deserves to be this year's number 1!