Uniforms

History


The team is widely noted for their simple game uniforms. They only wear white pants, and the jerseys are simple blue for home games, and white for away games. The Nittany Lions are only allowed to wear simple black Nike shoes with white calf socks for game days, though blue tights are allowed underneath the white socks for cold weather games. The helmet is white with a blue stripe down the center, and a blue on white "Penn State" sticker covers up the forehead helmet logo. No team logos, conference logos, numbers, or other stickers are permitted on the helmet, though two Nike logos are on facemask visors that some players choose to wear. Penn State has started to wear bowl decals only starting with Fiesta Bowl in 1987. Before that, Penn State always declined the decals so they can play out of their simple game uniforms. The blue and white uniforms replaced pink and black ones in 1890.

The uniforms became even simpler for the 2011 season, as the white cuffs and collars on the home jerseys and the corresponding blue cuffs and collars on the road jerseys were eliminated, leaving the jerseys solid blue and white. In 2012 Penn State started wearing names on their uniforms for the first time as a way to note the players who stuck with the school through the scandal and a blue ribbon in support the victims of child abuse. In 2013 the Nittany Lion logo was added to the base of the jersey collar along with the Big Ten logo on the right side of the jersey.

Penn State’s iconic navy and white uniforms don’t have as much meaning post-Jerry Sandusky, but one of college football’s most tradition-rich programs still takes pride in how it looks on Saturdays in the fall.

That’s why Joe Paterno’s replacement, head coach Bill O’Brien, stepped on thousands of toes in 2012 after he added names to the backs of jerseys for the first time in the program’s 125-year history. O’Brien later said it was critical that fans know the players that stuck with the program through tough times in the wake of Sandusky’s sexual harassment suit and heavy NCAA sanctions. The Nittany Lions also dropped white piping from the collar and sleeves and added a blue ribbon on the backs of helmets to support all victims of child abuse. Most within the athletic department and on the football staff thought the drastic changes were a necessity following the stain left by the previous regime. Looking back in 1987, Penn State moved to its current shade of blue  (a rich navy) after spending two decades in white shells with a royal blue stripe. Plain white numerals on the home threads and navy numbers on the road whites contrasted well together. From 1968-74, the Nittany Lions even had player numerals on their helmets. Paterno turned down a chance at a backup helmet in the 1970s that featured a blue Nittany Lion icon on a white shell. Perhaps Penn State’s new coaching staff that welcomes change will add some subtle changes to the gameday uniforms in the near future.