Five College Football Anniversary Throwback Uniforms We’d Like to See in 2026

Arizona State has the right idea.

Boise State would do well to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first Fiesta Bowl team by breaking out its sleek mid-2000s uniforms. | Ken Levine/Getty Images

In 1986, Arizona State rattled off a 10-1-1 record, finished No. 4 in the country, and won the Rose Bowl. The Sun Devils accomplished this feat, and many others in that era, while wearing a smiling cartoon devil logo on the side of their helmet.

Over the years, Arizona State has deemphasized that logo in favor of a more menacing pitchfork. Its legacy, however, has endured—enough to win resurrection as a throwback uniform this season, in a game yet to be determined.

In college football, as in popular culture, fashion is cyclical. One generation’s trash may become another’s treasure (though that is certainly not true of the timeless Sun Devil). On-field success can redeem plain and garish looks alike.

Working from that spirit, here are five anniversary throwback uniforms ready for equipment managers to pull from storage in 2026.

2006 Boise State

Boise State sported these uniforms from 2005 to ’09, when the Broncos broke out as a small-conference power. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What do the uniforms look like? Blue jerseys, blue pants, and a blue helmet with a well-sketched orange-and-blue Bronco to go with the words “BOISE STATE” stacked at a diagonal.

How good was the team that wore them? The ’06 team beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl—one of college football’s most enduring upsets—and went a staggering 39–8 with two undefeated seasons in the uniform’s five-year reign.

Why should they come back? Boise State is turning over a new leaf by joining the reconstituted Pac-12, and should pay homage to the reason it’s there in the first place—not to mention the helmet’s overt 2000s aesthetics are back in style.

2001 Maryland

What do the uniforms look like? Red jerseys, white pants, and a black-and-red-striped white helmet with script “Terps” on either side.

How good was the team that wore them? The 2001 Terrapins are the most recent Maryland team to reach a major bowl game (the Orange Bowl), and Maryland also wore these duds to an 11-win ’02 and 10-win ’03.

Why should they come back? Having spent one week ranked in their entire Big Ten life, the Terrapins would do well to invert their current helmet and call on the ghosts of successful DMV autumns past.

2001 Oregon

Oregon has donned many looks over the years but the 2001 Ducks’ black uniforms remain iconic. | Otto Greule/Allsport

What do the uniforms look like? Black jerseys with green sleeves and yellow stripes, black pants with yellow stripes, and a green helmet with a pronounced yellow “O.”

How good was the team that wore them? The Ducks went 11–1 in 2001 and probably should’ve played for the national championship, “settling” for a Fiesta Bowl victory, No. 2 finish, and an improvement on a 10–2 record in 2000 wearing the same uniforms.

Why should they come back? They’re not quite lookers, per se, but they helped launch Oregon as a national brand—plus, it’s not like switching up uniforms is a foreign concept to a team that has served as Nike’s fashion laboratory for decades.

1976 Houston

What do the uniforms look like? Red jerseys, white pants with red stripes, and a red helmet with a blockier “UH” than seen today.

How good was the team that wore them? Houston went 10–2 in 1976 and rode coach Bill Yeoman’s Veer offense to its first Cotton Bowl; it’s still the highest the Cougars have finished in the AP Poll (No. 4).

Why should they come back? While acknowledging that Houston hasn’t deviated that far aesthetically in the last half-century, the Cougars have a chance to acknowledge their glory years while celebrating one of college football’s most formally innovative teams.

1976 Rutgers

What do the uniforms look like? Red jerseys, white pants, and—here’s the kicker—a nifty Scarlet Knight insignia in lieu of the “R” Rutgers has rocked forever.

How good was the team that wore them? The 1976 Scarlet Knights are the most recent of the program’s three undefeated teams (including, because College Football Reference says so, the 1–0 1876 team).

Why should they come back? The knight logo is pretty unique, and (as with Maryland) the “R” hasn’t done Rutgers many favors in the Big Ten.

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