Indiana AD Gives Middle Finger To Adidas And Their New Uniforms

Ashley Schaeffer BMW12 years ago

A little over a week ago, we reported that Adidas was responsible for bringing the most reprehensible fashion statement to an NCAA basketball court since shorts that surpass the knee by inches longer than a socially conscious inseam became widely popular.

The new uniforms, to be showcased in the NCAA Tourney by UCLA, Baylor, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Louisville and Kansas, have been met with immense disdain from students at the institutions hoodwinked by Adidas into wearing them. Understandably so, because they feature shorts that look like a team assistant mistakenly threw a shitload bleach into the wash cycle while highly intoxicated.

However, it has just emerged that not every school approached by Adidas chose to cooperate with the hideous new uniform suggestions.

Namely, the B1G Ten Champion Indiana Hoosiers told Adidas to fuck off with their pitiful attempt at basketball trend setting, despite maintaining a multimillion-dollar sponsorship contract with the brand.

Per USA Today:

A photo collage hangs on the wall in the office of Indiana athletic director Fred Glass. It looks like a team picture, but it’s all of the school’s first-team All-Americans in basketball.

Glass said all you have to do is look at the picture on his wall to understand IU’s decision.

“When you look at that picture, it’s really hard to tell those uniforms apart,” Glass said. “It has really been a consistent look. Our thing is stability and a classic look. It’s about the name on the front of the chest and not on the back. All those things are important to who we are.

“I take seriously our obligation to be a good partner with Adidas, and we weren’t cavalier about this. But when all is said and done, that’s just not something that I think is appropriate for us here at Indiana to do.”

Regardless of where your fandom lies, you’ve got to respect Mr. Glass for this decision here.

In spite of the money that was probably thrown at his feet, he understands that tradition is something paramount to the legacy of the Hoosier program, and not something to be fucked with. Reportedly, he wouldn’t even give consideration to donning this acid-trip of a uniform for just one game.

Makes sense though, because the outcry from guys like Isaiah, Bob Knight, Calbert Cheaney, Steve Alford and Scott May, among other IU greats, would undoubtedly bring a lot of bad press to the Hoosier nation had they consented to this disgusting excuse of athletic apparel.

Bravo for standing up for the tradition now rooted so deeply in Assembly Hall, Fred.

However, when it comes to football, he did make a different assertion:

Glass did say, however, that just because IU won’t change its basketball uniform, that doesn’t mean the football team wouldn’t consider a different look.

“Someone told me a long time ago that fair is not treating everything the same,” Glass said. “Fair is treating like things alike. And in a variety of ways, I think our basketball program is different than our football program.

“We might step out and do a few different things with our football uniforms.”

Who knows, maybe some crazy uniform combinations akin to the Oregon Ducks may be the catalyst in creating some kind of tangible tradition other than losing for Indiana football?

God knows something needs done for the Hoosier team that boasts a pitiful 37-119 record since 1997, and hasn’t seen the BCS promise land since 2007.

[via USA Today]