To 'C' or not to 'C'?

UCLA is celebrating its status as the first school to achieve 100 NCAA team championships with a change of the color on the letter "C" in many of its team uniforms this season.

One example: check out the contrasting-color "C" on All-American setter Nellie Spicer’s jersey below:

MBA candidate Erkki Corpuz, also a talented artist, wasn’t so impressed with the dropped-C version of the logo used in the Rose Bowl end zone, so he suggests the following style for the UCLA men’s basketball uniforms:

The final style of the men’s basketball jerseys has apparently not been set yet, so we welcome your suggestions and are assured that members of the basketball staff check out this blog.

Nellie Spicer photo courtesy of UCLA; UCLA jersey photo courtesy Erkki Corpuz.

Comments

[MICHAEL LAZAROU]

The "C" depicted on the basketball jersey is overkill in my humble opinion. I would suggest a blue "C" like the other letters with a thin, tasteful gold outline around it. Strong, yet subtle.

[MH]

I agree, the contrasting 'C' on uniforms is odd. It's a clever idea for the Rose Bowl end zone, but I think a patch, like the one on the football helmets, is more appropriate.

[Rob]

I don't like the idea of changing the basketball uniforms to celebrate the 100 national titles. It comes across as a gimmick...

Further, if Athletic Department folks truly do read this blog (and the comments), perhaps they might consider not trying to be so clever re: the Roman numeral 'C'. UCLA has just topped the century mark in collegiate national championships, and we're painting one of the school's letters in the endzone differently??? Are you kidding me??? How about huge block letters AT MIDFIELD of the Rose Bowl that says "FIRST TO 100 CHAMPIONSHIPS"??? Ditto for the baseline at Pauley - especially since the Bruins are going to be on national TV quite a bit this coming season.

We're in a media-dominated world, which means that many receiving their information from what they see on TV. Watching on TV you have no idea about UCLA's celebration. And sitting at the Rose Bowl, you have to look to find it.

But hey, it sure is clever.

[Kendall Salter]

NO!!! Please please PLEASE don't change the CLASSIC basketball jerseys! more than 1/10th of the Bruins' championships were via the basketball squad, and changing the jerseys would seem, as was stated before, gimmiky. Stick with what got you there.

[Derek Lipkin]

I pray to all deities in hopes that basketball jerseys will be unaffected by this change. The most the athletic department should be willing to do is to add the "First to 100" logo to the jersey, maybe just above the players' left breasts or between the shoulder blades on the back. Otherwise, that "C" will mean only one thing: CORNY.

[Alex Chen]

UCLA's football team has suffered repeatedly from overconfidence, and emphasizing "first to 100" on any uniform will suggest an unnecessary level of pride or arrogance on the sporting field. It's fine to have a banner in the rafters, or a subtle star for a team's championship (see UCLA's soccer uniforms), but that's as far as it needs to go.

Speaking of uniform design, why does UCLA still use navy blue letters and numbers on its white home basketball uniform? The lighter blue of the road uniforms and other UCLA sports teams, if applied to the home uniform's letters and numbers, would be more consistent with the university's color scheme and would look better. A more stylish uniform would be a refreshing change, too; look at how Denver Nuggets merchandise sales went through the roof with the change to a cool blue-and-yellow combination and the signing of Carmelo Anthony. UCLA's basketball jerseys (especially the home uniforms) could really benefit from a more captivating design.

[Randy]

The contrasting 'C' looks distracting and should not be done. I agree that a '1st to 100' logo should go on the uniform instead. Please don't change the classic letters!