History of the Bradley alternate color uniforms

[Da Coach]

I initially posted this historical record of the use of alternative uniforms by past Bradley teams a couple years ago (Feb. 13, 2018 ), but I have had a fan ask about this subject, so here it is again.

It took a lot of research looking through reports and photos from old games going back many years to compile this information.
I am personally in favor of the Bradley team using alternative color uniforms, and many colleges do it regularly. I would like to see them bring back the alternate color uniforms.
Please feel free to comment whether you like the idea, or if you have any suggestions for Bradley.

It has been almost 7 years since the last time Bradley played a game using an alternative color uniform, and that was used for a special promotion 2/16/2013 (see below).
And it has now been more than 8 years since the last time Bradley played a game using an alternate color uniform that was not associated with a promotion. That was a game on 12/22/2011. See below for the details.....


Here is the history of Bradley's alternate colored uniforms-

Prior to 2009, ever since official school colors were adopted in the 1930's, Bradley always used two uniform colors, white for home games and red for away games. But as more and more schools adopted alternate color uniforms, there were suggestions by fans that Bradley should do so as well. But former Bradley AD Ken Kavanagh was always against the idea. And as much as I respected Ken, I was disappointed in the decision not to allow them. I personally favored anything that promoted fan interest. But he felt strongly that Bradley's colors were Red and White, and that the uniforms should not feature any other color.
But after Ken left in June, 2009, the athletic administration was more open to an alternate jersey color, and plans began to develop to use them.
At that time, Bradley was aligned with Nike, and Nike favored their schools' use of additional uniforms each year, and new AD Michael Cross liked the idea.

So, Black Nike uniforms were unveiled for the first ever Bradley "Blackout Game" promotion February 9, 2010 against Illinois State. The team wore the new black uniforms, and all 11,281 fans (the 5th largest crowd in Bradley's history) received nice black tee shirts (I still have mine!).
Bradley lead for the first 38 minutes of that game, but faded at the end and lost 62-61 to a pretty good Redbird team.
Game summary-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/2/10/204884560.aspx

Here is Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3 in black) attempting to block a shot by ISU's Osiris Eldridge (2/9/2010)-

But then Bradley returned to the red and white uniforms for the remaining 5 regular-season games that year.
Then, Bradley surprised everyone and broke the black Nike uniforms out again on 3/5/10 in their opening game in the quarterfinals of the 2010 MVC Tournament. #5 seeded Bradley blasted a pretty good #4 seeded Creighton team 81-62 to advance to play #1 seeded UNI.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204901868.aspx

Here is Bradley's Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Creighton's Ethan Wragge (3/5/2010)-

But then the magic apparently wore off. The Braves wore the black Nike uniforms one more time that season the next day on 3/6/10 in the semifinal round against the top seeded UNI, and lost 57-40-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204902603.aspx

Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh.(3/6/2010)-

The next season, 2010-11, was a bad year for Bradley when Taylor Brown was out all year with his heart issue, and Sam Maniscalco missed almost the entire season with an ankle injury. But Bradley did not wear the black uniforms again during that entire 2010-11 regular season.

However, Bradley brought the Black Nike uniforms out of mothballs for the opening round of the 2011 MVC Tournament in a game against Drake on 3/3/11, and #10 seed Bradley played extremely well and clobbered #7 seed Drake 63-48 for Jim Les' last win as Bradley coach.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/3/4/205108390.aspx

Dyricus Simms-Edwards (#32) on 3/3/2011-

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Then, on 3/4/11, Bradley went back to their red road uniforms for a quarterfinal game against Wichita State.
Jordan Prosser had dislocated his left kneecap in the previous night's win over Drake, and joined Sam Maniscalco and Taylor Brown in street clothes and did not play. #10 seed Bradley played the #2 seed Wichita State, and the undermanned Bradley team lost 70-56 and was eliminated from the tournament.
I am not sure why Bradley did not wear the black uniforms that game. One rumor was that it had to do with black being one of Wichita State's colors, and that they did not approve, even though WSU wore their white uniforms that game.
http://www.bradleybraves.com/news/20...px?path=mbball

Bradley's Dodie Dunson (#1) on 3/4/2011-

Then in the 2011-2012 season, Geno Ford's first season at Bradley, Bradley broke out all new designed Nike black uniforms in the Chicago Invitational Challenge played at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. They played Wisconsin in the opening game on 11/25/11, and lost 66-43-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/26/205338405.aspx

Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) drives around Wisconsin's Ryan Evans (#5) on 11/25/2011-

The next night, on 11/26/11, Bradley went back to wearing their new red Nike uniforms and lost to Nevada 64-49-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/27/205339012.aspx

Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) with the ball on 11/26/2011-

Bradley wore the new black uniforms one more time on 12/22/11 at Michigan in a nationally televised game. Geno Ford's first Bradley team played well, but lost 77-66-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/12/23/205351496.aspx

Bradley's Shayok Shayok (#23) rebounding the ball on 12/22/2011-

That was the last time (12-22-11) Bradley ever wore black uniforms. Bradley did not wear the black Nike uniforms again that season (2011-12) nor the following season (2012-13), so they apparently put them back in storage, and they have never been used again since.
Then, prior to the 2013-14 season, the administration switched uniform manufacturer from Nike to Adidas for the next 5 years.

And after the 2017-18 season, Bradley dumped Adidas, and switched to Under Armour as their shoe, uniform and apparel manufacturer.
They never used Adidas black uniforms, or any alternate color Adidas uniforms in the 5 seasons they were with Adidas (2013-2019 ). And there was no alternative color uniforms in the first 3 years of the Under Armour deal, either between 2019-2022.

So there must be 2 complete but different sets of those old Black Nike uniforms sitting in some storage room somewhere (the set that was used 4 different times during the 2009-10 & 2010-11 seasons, and the second set that was used twice in the 2011-12 season). If anyone knows anything about them, or if they still exist, let us know.

One more alternative color uniform-
Does anyone recall that Bradley wore one other different colored uniform a single time in a home game for a special promotional occasion?
In a home game on 2/16/13 against conference opponent Indiana State, Bradley wore pink NIKE uniforms as a breast cancer awareness promotion.
Bradley won the game 80-68. The pink uniforms were auctioned off in a silent auction during that game, and have never been used again since. They were sold to the fans who bid the highest on each one.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2013/2/16/206442161.aspx

That game (2/16/13) ironically was just 3 days before Bradley announced they had signed a deal to switch from Nike to Adidas for the following season-
https://www.pjstar.com/x1037513903/B...al-with-Adidas

Bradley's Ka'Darryl Bell (#0) wearing the pink Bradley uniform with the Nike swoosh on 2/16/2013-

Edit: In the 2022-23 season, Bradley introduced the first Under Armour alternate uniform - it was the home white uniform with the script Bradley across the front and it was meant to be a one-time promotion for the Bradley Illinois State game on January 25, 2023, a game that Bradley won in an exciting 79-75 overtime win- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...ins-an-instant-classic-vs-illinois-state.aspx

The uniform was such a hit with fans and brought the Braves good luck, that Bradley wore them again in the next home game against SIU, a game they won 62-52- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/1/mens-basketball-game-recap-bradley-vs-southern-illinois.aspx

Bradley kept winning with the new uniform, and even wore them on the road at Illinois State when the Redbirds chose to wear red uniforms in their home game. Bradley won easily 79-61- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/8/mens-basketball-bradley-sweeps-the-i-74-rivalry.aspx

Bradley continued wearing the Script white uniform at home and won every remaining regular season game that season after introducing them against Illinois State. They wore them again in a road game at SIU when the home team Salukis chose to wear a black uniform- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...-game-recap-bradley-at-southern-illinois.aspx

Then in a surprising move, Bradley unveiled a new red version of the script Bradley uniform for their final home game against Drake on February 26, 2023, in the game that would determine the MVC regular season championship. Bradley won that game 73-61 to claim their first MVC title since 1996.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/26/bradley-earns-mvc-regular-season-mens-basketball-title.aspx

Bradley continued wearing the script uniforms through the MVC tournament, where they wore the white ones as the top seed in 3 games against UNI, Indiana State, and Drake. Then they wore the red ones in the NIT game at Wisconsin in the final game of the season.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...radleys-historic-season-comes-to-a-close.aspx

And they continued to wear the script white and red Under Armour uniforms in the 2023-24 season.

The next alternate uniform will be the Peoria Edition PIA uniforms that will be worn December 2, 2023 in a game against Indiana State.

 

[Tommy]

I'm personally not a fan of alternate uniforms. My memory of alternate uniforms is of always seeing them lose in them, and reading this well-written history, I think that's mostly accurate.

Aside from losing in alternative uniforms, even if the cost isn't that great, I think there are better ways to spend money for the university, but then these may come free to the teams via apparel providers like Nike, Adidas, etc., in which case refer back to point one.

On a side note, it is neat to see the team in different colors on occasion and probably isn't bad marketing. I'd probably be a lot more on-board if we had a better record of winning in them (not to say I'm superstitious or anything).

 

[egib52]

I like the idea of alternate uniforms if done properly. First of all don't do black, just about every sports team has done that, and it has been over done. I would be interested in a gray, but those are getting to that point too. The problem is Bradley really doesn't have a tertiary color. I have thought about this before because I love the Illini's current set (white, script white, orange, and blue). The only other thoughts I had were:

Bring these back Or do a faux-retro using the blue accent as the primary color (baby blues are popular in baseball).

 

[Da Coach]

Under Armour, Nike, and other uniform manufacturers in recent years have created a lot of new and creative alternate jerseys.
Here are a few examples-
St. John's colors are Red & White, just like Bradley. But they have multiple alternates. Here is a pewter colored Under Armour one that is very nice-

And Adidas for Kansas (official colors white and blue)-

Here are variations worn by Illinois (Nike), and they recently unveiled a gray version-

San Diego State's official colors are scarlet and black, but here is a turquoise alternate jersey they wore earlier this season-

Even relatively low level mid-majors like Louisiana Tech are wearing the alternate jerseys (official colors are blue and red)-

And although I really dislike these Adidas designs (they were rejected by virtually every school), it shows that the alternate uniform can be creative-

And many D1 schools are even breaking out "Throwback" variations of their uniforms (the last one is ISU, which for the record, I think is really ugly!)

And many more-
https://www.google.com/search?biw=12...DSMG6GYNn--yM:

 

[Tommy]

If it’s ISU, the really ugly part can go unsaid!

 

[Da Coach]

I tried to remain objective, Tommy.
But even being objective, there is no way anyone could like those uni's.

 

[Tommy]

I tried to remain objective, Tommy.
But even being objective, there is no way anyone could like those uni's.

HAHA! Agreed!

 

[egib52]

These are the new Illini jerseys I was speaking of:

 

[egib52]

I wouldn't mind something similar to the St John's ones or the LA Tech ones.

 

[BUfan17]

Script Jerseys are just classic. I wish we could have some.

 

[Bradley3342]

ISU throwbacks remind me of the globetrotters. Pretty horrible!

 

[Da Coach]

How many know this....
https://teamcolorcodes.com/bradley-braves-color-codes/

Bradley actually does have 3 official team colors.

I vaguely recall that when Bradley changed their logo in 2012, they set definitions for the precise color codes to be used for the official team colors.
But in addition to "Bradley Red" and "White", there is a third official color- "Kaboom Gray".
So there is simply no excuse not to have an alternate uniform with the Kaboom Gray color! It is one of Bradley's official colors!

 

[Tommy]

How many know this....
https://teamcolorcodes.com/bradley-braves-color-codes/

Bradley actually does have 3 official team colors.

I vaguely recall that when Bradley changed their logo in 2012, they set definitions for the precise color codes to be used for the official team colors.
But in addition to "Bradley Red" and "White", there is a third official color- "Kaboom Gray".
So there is simply no excuse not to have an alternate uniform with the Kaboom Gray color! It is one of Bradley's official colors!

The crowning achievement of the Glasser regime.

 

[BUfan14]

It would be really nice to pull out the alternate gray uniforms for the ISU home game on a Saturday. I was at the ISU game when the black jerseys came out and that was fun for the crowd. I know crowds are less now, but hopefully that is a meaningful game for us this year at that point, along with it being ISU.

Wasn't there also a time when Bradley wore either a throwback or alternate white uniform with a light blue and red cursive on them? I think it was, give or take a few years, around the same time of the black uniforms.

 

[Da Coach]

...
Wasn't there also a time when Bradley wore either a throwback or alternate white uniform with a light blue and red cursive on them? I think it was, give or take a few years, around the same time of the black uniforms.

I believe there was such a throwback uniform used for one game in 1993. Bradley had been playing home games at Carver Arena since 1982, but on December 1, 1993, there was a throwback game played at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse against Illinois Wesleyan. Bradley won the game 81-63. But in that game, Bradley wore a one-time commemorative jersey that featured an off-white color with a script Bradley across the front of the jersey. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game and never worn again. I can't find a picture of those jerseys, so if anyone has a photo, or knows someone who bought one of them, let me know.
I believe it was intended to be a throwback to the home version of the uniforms worn in the Famous Five era of Bradley basketball, circa 1937. Here is a picture of the road version, which was maroon, not red.

There were a few years in the early and mid-1980's, including 1981-82 NIT Championship year and 1985-86 NCAA year, when the regular Bradley uniform featured the cursive Bradley across the front of the jersey, trimmed in blue. Here are a couple pictures of those uniforms. However, they were not considered throwback, they were the regular uniforms worn for every game those years.

As I've posted before, in a discussion with Bradley's Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh (at Bradley from 1996-2009) about an alternate uniform, he was against it, and believed that Bradley's colors were Red & White, and those are the only colors they should wear. That is why Bradley never had any alternate color uniforms until 2010 (see the top post in this thread). Ken left Bradley in 2009, and Michael Cross, who succeeded him, was agreeable to the alternate color, and that's why we first saw the alternate color uniforms (black) in February, 2010

 

[BUfan14]

Yes, those white ones are it! I distinctly remember Eddren McCain wearing those for some reason.

And now that I look him up, I found a couple on his MySpace page

:

 

[BUfan14]

Looking some more, here is the article about the auction. The blue is definitely in these ones though. Says we wore them a few times.

https://bradleybraves.com/news/2009/2/21/3675185.aspx

 

[BUfan14]

This is what I would like to see, something like this that Texas Tech wore or St. John's:

 

[Da Coach]

Looking some more, here is the article about the auction. The blue is definitely in these ones though. Says we wore them a few times.

https://bradleybraves.com/news/2009/2/21/3675185.aspx

Thanks for finding that. Great info! That was from the 2008-09 season. Per the article, those white 1986-style throwback uniforms were worn for 3 home games then auctioned off.
The reason I did not include those in my initial post in this thread, is because my topic was "alternate color uniforms", and although those were throwbacks, and different than the team's regular uniforms, they were the same red and white colors. But, I would love to see Bradley do something like that again.

It's great to document the history of those throwback uniforms, as well as all the alternate color uniforms. I am afraid Bradley history like this is on the verge of being lost forever. There are very few people left working at Bradley who go back more than a decade or two, and the few who are longer-time Bradley employees, don't go back much earlier than the 1990's and don't seem interested in preserving this kind of history.

 

[Crusenswings]

Has there been any real discussion in the Athletic Department about doing an alternate jerseys? I wouldn't mind a jersey re-design for next season as a whole.