BYU Announces Uniform Combination for Opener Against Arizona
Heading into the 2021 college football season, BYU has more uniform combinations at its disposal than games on the schedule. Ever since the Cougars added royal and navy helmets to their uniform repertoire in March, some fans have eagerly anticipated the debut of the new helmets. BYU announced that it will wear the new royal helmets when it takes on Arizona in Las Vegas on September 4th. They will also wear the royal jersey and royal pants creating a "royal rush" look.
Photo Credit: Twitter @MasenWake13
According to an official statement from BYU, the Cougars debuted a royal helmet in 1964. The game against Arizona will represent the first time BYU has worn royal blue helmets since 1968.
"In 1964, BYU head coach Tommy Hudspeth, assistant coach LaVell Edwards, and future NFL quarterback Virgil Carter debuted a royal football helmet. The following year, BYU defeated Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and others to win the 1965 WAC championship—the first conference football title in school history." - BYU Athletics
Following the opener against Arizona, BYU will announce the uniform combination for each game in a similar format as last season, with each uniform being revealed the week of the game. Since 1964, BYU has donned royal helmets, white helmets, and navy helmets. When BYU added the royal helmets and navy helmets in March, they provided the historical context for blue helmets in BYU football history.
"In 1969, celebrating the centennial of college football, the Cougars returned to a white helmet with double-stripe design that had been used during the 1956 season. Now commonly viewed as the classic BYU look, the white helmet with blue stripes and Y logo remained the primary helmet for the next three decades during the Edwards era until a navy-blue helmet was adopted in 1999.
In partnership with Nike in 1999, BYU introduced the navy helmet along with new logos, colors, and uniforms. The navy jersey and helmet had not been used at BYU since the 1950s. The dark blue helmet again became a part of the tradition-rich history of Cougar football, which included the final season of Coach Edwards’ Hall of Fame career in 2000. Also finishing his playing career that same season was current BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, while other Cougar standouts such as Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley, future NFL quarterbacks Brandon Doman and John Beck and many other great players donned the blue helmet while adding to the BYU football legacy.
In 2005, under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Cougars returned to the white helmet with the traditional-style jersey that had been popular throughout much of the Edwards era. All three colors of helmets that will now be utilized by BYU—white, royal, and navy—were used during Edwards' tenure in Provo dating back to 1962." - BYU Athletics