Mile High Sports

Stripes give CSU Football’s new uniforms an old-school feel

Rich Kurtzman
CSU Football 2023 home uniforms.

CSU Football 2023 home uniforms. Credit: @CSUFootball on Twitter.

10 days ago, CSU Football unveiled their new uniforms for 2023 and beyond.

And while they may be the latest iteration of uniforms, the stripes on the pants give them an old-school feel.

Here they are in all their glory:

Gone are the bone horns on the shoulders. Now, the Rams are sporting horizontal stripes there. Similarly, while the team’s pants were solid gold–or white–now they are gold with a thick green vertical stripe adorned with thinner, white stripes on either side.

Here’s a look at the road jersey from 2016-2022. Note the “RAMS” on the left pant leg, too, which is now gone.

Oct 29, 2022; Boise, Idaho, USA; Colorado State Rams quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (16) hands the ball off to Rams running back Jaylen Thomas (27) during second half against Boise State Broncos at Albertsons Stadium. Boise State defeated Colorado State 49-10. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Starting in the 1990s and the Sonny Lubick Era, the Rams wore all gold pants, with no stripes. That’s when they switched over from yellow to “Vegas” gold, as well.

But, as this Rocky Mountain Collegian article points out, CSU Football had stripes on the sides of their pants–and sometimes on jerseys, too–from the 1940s through the 1980s. Note: The 2010 and 2011 Rams uniforms did have stripes on the pants, too, but that was a short-lived look from Russell Athletic.

As John Hirn, who wrote the book “Aggies to Rams: The History of Football at Colorado State University,” explained, they pay homage to the 1950s uniforms. 

Clean and classic, yes. But what about the other combinations the team had been enjoying for years?

New uniforms means less options

Gone are the white pants, as well as the green pants the team sometimes wore. At least, for these typical game day uniforms. That eliminates four options for the team: White on white, white on green, green on white, and green on green.

Similarly, it seems the bone horn helmets–which were white–are also gone. It was met with some mixed results from the few responses I got from fans on Twitter:

What about Ag Day and State Pride?

The good news is, everyone will still get a surprise when the new Ag Day and State Pride uniforms are unveiled later this season.

Colorado State Football confirmed that while there won’t be white pants typically worn, those special combinations are coming soon.

So, stay tuned for those looks.

Since they were introduced in 2010, Colorado State’s Ag Day orange jerseys have been a huge hit. These ones from 2021 feature the old-school Ram on a white helmet, while other iterations have featured an orange bone look on a green helmet.

The Colorado State football team wearing Ag Day gear for its game against Vanderbilt at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Credit: Kevin Lytle, The Coloradoan/USA TODAY Sports.

Maybe even more beloved are the State Pride joints which are all-white with blue stripes and the Colorado flag “C” on the helmet.

Oct 22, 2022; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado State Rams running back Avery Morrow (25) celebrates his game-winning touchdown at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado State Football kicks off their 2023 season against Washington State on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. MT at Canvas Stadium. According to their website, there are less than 10,000 tickets remaining as the school hopes to sell out Canvas.

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