Could WVU Change Primary Uniforms? Ditch the Grays? Ross Hodge Shares His Opinion

Over the last couple of years, West Virginia has rolled out some new uniforms for the men's basketball team. They did their first-ever throwback look a year ago with the Jerry West-era blue, and then this year, broke out the white version of it and also dropped a new Coal Rush uniform, which better aligns with the all-black alternates that football, baseball, and the other sports have.

Toward the end of the season, WVU wore the white throwback uniform pretty often, and maybe it's a sign that it will become the primary uniform for the Mountaineers moving forward.

Head coach Ross Hodge is in love with the throwback, classic look and hinted at the possibility of it being the primary look.

“I’m kind of a uniform purist," he said in an interview with 3 Guys Before the Game. "Obviously, when you have your special games, you know, the Coal Rush uniform is very meaningful and impactful, but I’m just kind of a clean, crisp, that old school jersey that’s a cut a little tighter and not as full, and just the West Virginia block lettering looks really good. Love the Jerry West blue ones they wore, and we wore this year, and then the white ones we introduced this year, with the combination of your modern school colors, too, allows it to have maybe a little more permanent feel to it.”

One uniform that may be out of the rotation? The grays.

“Probably wouldn’t hurt my feelings," Hodge said when asked if he'd be upset if they never wore the grays again. "There was a time period where gray was a really big trend in college basketball for the alternate uniform. It kind of went universal there for a minute; everyone had a gray alternate. I don’t dislike them. I like the other ones better.”

I've been saying this for a handful of years now. The gray is just kind of bleh, and it doesn't look great with the gold and blue. Not to mention, by the first media timeout, the jerseys turn dark gray around the neck from sweat, which doesn't happen with the other uniforms. The same thing happened with the football gray unis as well, and thankfully, they ditched that look completely after the 2023 season. It just doesn't look like West Virginia. At least with the Coal Rush uniforms, there is a purpose behind them.

Transitioning to the throwbacks would take out the excitement and awe around them because you would be seeing them all the time, but it's a much sharper, cleaner look, and most WVU fans can't stand the "new" font the athletics department uses.