ideas of uniforms from eras other than the "glory years" of 1980-1990 that would be cool to see the team wear for a game. Keep in mind I'm not suggesting the team wear these exact cuts of jerseys -- you've seen what other college teams (Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon State, etc) and NFL teams (Packers, Steelers, Lions) have done applying older throwback looks to current uniform cuts and fabrics. I think they look great. Here are a few that would be cool to try out:


The 1996 uniform
This is one of the most popular BYU uniform combinations ever, second only to the traditional look worn in the 1980s/90s and -- in navy blue -- worn by the team now. I believe it was based on the throwback uniforms Steve Young and the 49ers wore for the NFL's 75th anniversary en route to their Super Bowl win in 1994. The black drop shadow behind the numbers, block 'Y' logo on the arms, and the plain white pants set this uniform apart from the traditional look.



The 1970s uniform
This was the predecessor to the uniform that we now associate with BYU football. These were the first uniforms to feature the "oval-Y" logo, though in an earlier incarnation that had straighter lines and a more old-school block styling. Like most helmets of the era, the facemasks were gray, and the uniforms featured numbers on the sleeves in addition to the front and back.



The 1960s uniform
This uniform combination is one that could be really cool to try -- blue helmet with gray facemask, blue jersey, and white pants. A way to modernize this a bit could be a matte blue helmet with chrome facemask. At some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s, the early oval-Y was added to the helmet, which could also be a cool look, either with the old oval-Y or the current version.



The traditional BYU uniform
So, if we're going to wear the royal blue, we might as well do it right. This means wearing white pants with the royal blue jersey -- this is BYU, not Air Force. Also, the pants in the 1980s and early 1990s had two thin blue stripes rather than the matching thin-thick-thin "Northwestern" stripe from the jersey sleeves. (I think the matching sleeve and pants "Northwestern" stripes look good on the regular uniforms though.)



So, next year is the 20th anniversary of the 14-1 Cotton Bowl champion 1996 team -- would be a perfect opportunity to start changing up the royal blue throwbacks a little bit. Maybe alternate each year between the traditional 1980s royal blue and something else? Any past BYU uniforms I'm missing? I could maybe be convinced on the 2000-2001 uniforms, but I never want to see our team in the bibs or the shoulder stripe 2002-2004 uniforms ever again.