Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME no plans to mess with the traditional simplicity of Notre Dame's jerseys. Plank visited South Bend in January for the official announce- ment and brought a small sample of proto- type uniforms with him. The football jersey he presented to Swarbrick looked almost identical to Notre Dame's current uniform except for the interlocking UA logo where adidas's three- striped triangle once ap- peared below the shoul- der. "We want people to know we're looking for clean, bold and consis- tent looks," Plank said. "I think there's a great history of that here al- ready, so I don't think we have to do anything out there." Plank said the mock uniforms he showed in January weren't fin- ished products. Those wouldn't be developed until this summer. The company's main goal, though, is to establish a consistent look across all of Notre Dame's teams. The two sides agreed that there will be no Under Armour signage posted at Notre Dame Stadium or other sports a r e n a s o n c a m p u s , which is rare in these deals today. W h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g their time-tested look was without a doubt a priority for the Irish w h e n t a l k i n g w i t h their potential suitors, Swarbrick said he hopes the new deal with Under Armour will help Notre Dame break free from the shackles of its long history that can have a slowing effect at times. "Notre Dame is rich in tradition. What we are not as rich in is an entre- preneurial culture," he said. "For us to marry our tradition with one of the great entrepreneurial stories in recent time in this country is exciting for me. I think that will impact our culture in di- rect ways." Swarbrick believes the next frontier in win- ning championships in college sports will come from advances in the technology available to coaches and teams. That means jerseys that help players perform better and recover faster. It means equipment that helps keep players safer. It means innovative gear that helps in the collec- Notre Dame Football tickets 2014 Games NoW oN sale Gift Certificates Available 1-800-925-2500 www.NotreDametickets.com Notre Dame will officially tran- sition from adidas to Under Armour as the university's out- fitter July 1. Irish athletic teams will sport Under Armour gear during the 2014-15 campaign. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND