For the first time in more than 100 years, the Virginia Tech Hokies wore black when they suited up in the Nike Pro Combat System of Dress for the Boise State game at FedExField on Labor Day night.
The uniform colors marked a departure from the school’s maroon and orange combination, but they were not without precedent. The black uniforms referenced the cadet gray-and-black colors worn by Virginia Tech’s original football team, and the uniform color scheme draws inspiration from the school’s large Corps of Cadets – integral to Virginia Tech’s unique football culture. Tech wore the uniforms in honor of the Corps.
“We feel privileged to be one of the 10 teams selected, and Nike is very, very good to this program, athletics department and university,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. “We're very proud of our partnership with Nike and we want to be a good partner.
“I like what these uniforms are trying to honor – Virginia Tech history and the Corps of Cadets. I’m proud of that. I like that they’re in the spotlight with this.
“So whether you like the uniform or not is a matter of personal opinion, but I hope everybody respects what we’re trying to honor here. And our players really like it, and they like being one of the programs selected to participate in this. Trust me, our relationship with Nike has been very good for Virginia Tech. We’re more than happy to work with those good people.”
Nike’s designers also focused on the school’s commitment to scientific inquiry. “Ut Prosim” (That I May Serve), the motto of the school and of the cadets, appeared inside the back yoke of the jersey, on the back of the helmet and on the inside cuff of the gloves. Jersey numbering, outlined in gray, is rendered in burnt orange with a Chicago maroon fade-in to form an all-over technology-inspired pattern – a nod to Virginia Tech’s engineering identity.
Nine other teams wore or will wear Nike’s Pro Combat System of Dress, including Boise State. The uniforms are 37 percent lighter than current designs, relieving players of extra weight in a game that demands top speed.
This will not be the only time a Tech team wears a special uniform. Two other of Tech’s teams – the men’s basketball team and the baseball team – will wear a special uniform at some point during the course of their respective seasons as well.
Moore headlines Hall of Fame contingent
Corey Moore, the most honored football player in Virginia Tech history, headlines a contingent of five athletes for induction to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
The list of 2010 inductees also includes:
• Gene Bunn, a ball-hawking defensive back of the 1970s who set a Tech career pass interception record that still stands today.
• Michelle Meadows, a record-setting softball player who excelled on the diamond and in the classroom during a stellar four-year career.
• Laurie Shiflet Hackbirth, the first female tennis player in Tech history to finish a season with regional and national rankings in singles.
• The late Duke Thorpe, a jumping-jack basketball forward of the mid-70s whose relentless play helped him etch his name into the Tech record book.
Moore, a two-time Big East defensive player of the year, ranks third all time at Tech in career sacks (35) and total tackles for a loss (58). Following his senior season, he won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s defensive player of the year and the Lombardi Award as the college football lineman of the year.
The five new honorees will be inducted at a Hall of Fame dinner on the Tech campus on Friday, Oct. 22, the evening before Tech’s home football game against Duke University. Each of the living inductees and families of all of the inductees will be introduced to fans at halftime of the football game.
The new inductees will bring the total number enshrined to 152. The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1982 and is currently located near the Bowman Room on the fourth floor of the Jamerson Athletics Center. Hall of Fame plaques engraved with portraits of all the members are displayed there. Under Tech Hall of Fame guidelines, persons are not eligible for induction until they have been out of school for a period of 10 years.
