uni watch article on teams using multiple helmets/uniforms and the cost

[ram29jackson]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...otball-helmets

It wasn't that long ago -- just five or six years -- that virtually every major college football team had only one helmet design. The main exception was Washington State, which had separate helmets for home and road (which was considered a major eccentricity at the time).

Things sure have changed. A college football team with only one or two helmets is now viewed as being somewhere between quaint and pathetic. Thanks to the explosion in helmet designs -- blackout, whiteout, gray, carbon fiber, camouflage, chrome, pride, stars and stripes, rivalry, matte-finish, throwback and more -- many programs have at least three different helmet colors that they can customize with various decals and face mask colors to create a near-endless array of designs. (As if to underscore this point, Oregon has just announced a new pink helmet.)

Question 6: Are you aware of the new NFL rule banning alternate helmets? If so, what did you think when you heard about it?



Uni Watch
With the helmet explosion showing no signs of abating, many Uni Watch readers have begun asking questions: How much do these helmets cost? Who pays for them? What happens to them all, especially the ones that are used only once or twice?

West Virginia, like other schools, has a problem with all its helmets: Where do you store them all?

Question 6: Are you aware of the new NFL rule banning alternate helmets? If so, what did you think when you heard about it?

Neal (Arizona): I thought, "Wow, common sense has popped up." That's not to say I think our situation here is unsafe -- today's helmets are fantastic. I know they're all properly fit and worn. But I do have concerns about all these helmets -- when does it stop? To me, we're going 100 miles an hour with this thing, and a rule like the NFL came up with, I see that as slowing it down. That's why I see it as common sense. I do understand the importance of recruiting, and I think that's 95 percent of the whole deal with all these helmets, but at some point it's like an arms race.

I'm old enough to remember the old tear-away jerseys, where you'd go through seven or eight jerseys per player. And one reason the NCAA eliminated those was that it wasn't fair to everyone, because not every school could afford that. It was a cost issue. And I have to wonder about that same thing with these helmets and uniforms, because it takes ridiculous amounts of money. I'd rather see us go back to one helmet, home and away jerseys, home and away pants, and leave it at that.

Freeman (UNC): There's differing opinions [on using one helmet as opposed to using multiple helmets]. Until the NCAA steps in and says something or provides some research or a study, it's hard to say which way to go. Like I said, we use those concussion sensors in our helmets, and we're involved with all the concussion research they do here at UNC, so that's something we take very seriously. I think the NFL is doing what it thinks is in the best interests of its players. But until I see something that tells me otherwise, I feel comfortable with what we're doing. If I didn't, I'd voice my concern. Same goes for our athletic trainer.

[ram29jackson]

Nehlen (WVU): A few years back we had a "Combat" game against Pitt, and then we wore that helmet again in our bowl game, because Nike said we could do that. Those helmets were sold at what we call a "yard sale" at our next spring game -- we're not allowed to call it an auction. They all sold in about 10 minutes. Then last season we wore a gray helmet and decided not to wear it this year, so we had another yard sale this past spring. The funds went back to the athletic department.

yard sale