The Kansas State University Wildcats men’s basketball team have unveiled two new uniforms for the upcoming season. One will be in purple and the other is white.
As is par for the course in college sports these days, the uniform unveil was accompanied by a video. Interstingly, while the uniforms look very plain from the front, they feature a very intricate side panel design. You’ll see it in the video…
Here’s a look at both uniforms.
Both jerseys feature “K-STATE” on the front in a bespoke italic font. The maker’s mark is on the right chest above the wordmark, with a Big XII logo on the left side. Numbers are below the wordmark in a block, serif font. The white jersey has a purple wordmark and number, while the purple jersey uses white for both.
If we couldn’t see the sides of the jersey, we would assume it was plain, simple and classic. But the team has added side panels with a sort of ambiguous “wildcat” striping. I’m not entirely certain what specific “wildcat” the team is nicknamed for (Wiki shows several different photos in their “Wildcat” entry). No matter, the side stripe pattern is meant to evoke the pattern found on one of the larger cat species, I’m guessing.
The shorts (save for the wildcat pattern) are also fairly plain: they have the K-State wildcat logo just below the right hip, and the maker’s mark on the left. The drawstring shorts feature “Wildcats” in script at the center point.
Jersey backs are also pretty spartan. Just a NOB and number in contrasting color (purple on white, white on purple) in the same style as on the front.
I’ve never been a big fan of uniforms with side panels (feels like these are remnants from the crazy designs prevalent in the 1990s and early 2000s), and I’m not quite sure what to make of these. On the one hand, they add just a bit of “flair” to an otherwise very clean and classic design, and on the other hand, they add just a bit of “flair” to an otherwise very clean and classic design. It’s almost like they were an afterthought. The design itself is kind of cool, but it feels out of place on an otherwise solid, if unspectacular, design. But in creating this pattern, it’s kept strictly to the side panel, and there are no other bells and whistles which plagued other uniforms.
My design tastes are definitely classical or traditional, so I would have been fine with the unis sans-side panels. I think I’ll need to see them on the court and in action in order to render a true full opinion.
K-State have worn a number of different basketball uniforms in the past couple seasons, ranging from somewhat classic/traditional to very traditional/throwback, while mixing in lavender fauxbacks and modernish purple. They’ve also even mixed in some random BFBS. But these have been the core four of the uniforms.
K-State has not said if the two new uniforms will replace any of the existing uniforms, or be added to the uniform stable.
The Wildcats begin their 2024-25 season on October 29th.
So what do you guys think of the new uniforms?
I’m pretty much a traditionalist and would have preferred these without the side panel stuff, but I honestly don’t mind them. I’d like to see the side panels from a distance: wondering if from afar it will just look strangely spotted or still evoke the whole “wildcat” fur thing.
I’ll like these even more if they keep those cool lavender fauxbacks and ditch the stupid black set.
Pretty meh if you ask me:
No collar or sleeve striping almost always makes jerseys look pretty bland and generic. The side panel pattern just looks like random splotches. The juxtaposition of the modern K-State font for the jersey with the classic Wildcats script on the short seems mismatched. Even the placement of the wildcat logo on the shorts is odd. At least there isn’t a bunch of random black or grey on them thought. Hopefully they plan to wear their throwbacks a lot
Pretty meh if you ask me. The lack of any sleeve or collar striping almost always make jerseys look bland and generic. The side panels just look like random splotches. I don’t like the juxtaposition of the modern K-State font on top with the classic Wildcats script on the shorts. Even the placement of the Wildcat logo on the shorts is odd. Hopefully they plan to wear their throwbacks a lot next season.
The headline should really say “men’s hoops.”
I want to like the side panels, but they just don’t quite work for me. “Wildcats” is a nebulous term that could refer to lots of different types of wild or feral cat species. With that said, in the United States, the term most often refers to bobcats and lynx (link). And, historically and in his current form, K-State’s Willie the Wildcat probably resembles a bobcat as much as any other cat, especially with those streaks of white fur along his cheeks (link).
So what’s not to like about the “wildcat” side panels on the K-State men’s team’s new uniforms? Well, I appreciate the concept, but I guess I have questions about the quality of the execution. The splotches of color don’t really look like they match the coat pattern of either bobcats or lynxes to me (link). I guess maybe they kind of resemble a bobcat’s fur, but I’ve always thought of them as having spots more than stripes.
Another problem is that bobcats and lynx just don’t have as distinctive of fur patterns – at least in the public’s imagination – as other big cat species like tigers, jaguars, and leopards. So when I look at K-State’s side panels, I don’t automatically think, “Oh, that’s obviously a wildcat!” Instead, it just kind of looks like poorly executed tiger stripes to me.
Honestly, I think they could have pulled this off if they’d used a bit more shading on the pattern and made it look more precisely like the spots on a bobcat’s legs. As it is, it just feels a bit messy and confusing.
I see the side panels as camouflage. Just call it that. Most of the K-State teams are associated with Fort Riley military units, or at least they were when I served.
I am not a big fan of that font, I don’t know why. It kind of cheapens the jersey look. Really don’t like that “power cat”. I think that it just screams 90’s (like the Denver Bronco logo) and it really should be updated. I do like the side panels!
The “K-STATE” font (Serpentine Bold) is one of the most overused varsity typefaces. And apropos of nothing, the most athletic cat in the animal kingdom is the Cheetah, a word unused for reasons that ought to be obvious. Maybe THAT should be the “Wildcat” KSU channels in future designs.
I’m unsure why they even “needed” this uni set. The rest of their combos are fine, except for maybe the BFBS. and those side panels just look like a wildcat has marked it’s territory on there. I wonder if they will be wearing the lavender over purple unis this year?