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Is this ULM helmet the sickest (or ugliest) in college football? (PHOTOS)

The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks already have one of the best names in college football. Do their helmets' aesthetics match their awesome name?
Matthew Graham|
Nov 18, 2023: Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks fans cheer during the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Nov 18, 2023: Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks fans cheer during the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels. | Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

College football uniforms and gear are one of the few ways smaller schools can get recognized. Or of course another way is to pull off a colossal upset, but that’s as rare as the Appalachian State Mountaineers shocking the Michigan Wolverines at “The Big House” way back in 2007.

So then back to gear it is, and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks football team have thrown their hat, or in this case, helmet in the ring for making an emphatic statement to get noticed starting the season against the Jackson State Tigers, of course where the Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and dual-threat extraordinaire Travis Hunter all started their college careers.

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Now the “War Eagle” is the famous Auburn Tigers battle cry, but the Warhawks have generally flown under the radar until this bold helmet made the rounds before kickoff.

Also fun fact, there’s no such thing as a warhawk. A war hawk is a predatory bird, and Capri, the 14-year-old red-shouldered hawk attends every ULM home football game. However, ULM is named after the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk planes that the 1st American Volunteer Group flew in World War II under General Claire Lee Chennault, who was from northeast Louisiana. How cool is that!

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After finally noticing that it does look like an angry bird, the helmet also seems to have a Native American aesthetic, which would make sense given their former name, when they also won their only Division I-AA championship in 1987.

Our vote is the Warhawk helmets are vying for sickest, but fans opinions were certainly mixed based on the comments in the above tweet.

Given how awesome ULM’s background is with the helmet and heritage of the name change, sickest definitely wins.

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Matthew Graham
MATTHEW GRAHAM

Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win (named Best Mobile Site by Digiday). He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.

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