The Miami (of Ohio) RedHawks have unveiled a new blue alternate jersey, which they will wear for their homecoming game this week against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The blue jersey pays homage to Western College for Women, which closed 50 years ago, in 1974, and became integrated as part of Miami’s campus. This year’s Homecoming theme, “Celebrating the Spirit of Western: A Homecoming for Love, Honor, and Legacy.” Western College for Women was founded as Western Female Seminary in 1853 and changed its name in 1904. As this season marks the 50th anniversary of Western College’s final graduating class, alumnae from the institution will be recognized as part of the homecoming festivities.
Naturally the school produced a video for the occasion.
The spirit of Western College will run through Yager Stadium this Saturday, September 28.
To honor the legacy of the Western College for Women, Miami University’s football team will don special blue, white, and red jerseys as part of the Homecoming 2024 celebration.
For more… pic.twitter.com/BqDdspey7I
— Miami Football (@MiamiOHFootball) September 23, 2024
The helmets and pants are not new, but the jersey is. Let’s take a look at that now.
According to the school…
The unique jersey design mimics a 1970s-era throwback with its shoulder stripes and sleeve numbers, as this weekend’s festivities honor the 50th anniversary of the final Western College graduating class from 1974. The jersey details fuse the color scheme of Western’s blue and white with Miami’s red and white to recognize the merger of Miami University and Western College and show the institutions coming together as one. The RedHawks will wear their traditional white pants with the matching red stripe for the Homecoming game, which will be broadcast on ESPN+. The jersey combination includes Miami’s trademark white helmets, with the Beveled-M logo on either side.
Here’s a bit of a closer look at the full uniform.
Interestingly, neither the helmet nor the pants have any blue, but the jersey does have both white and red elements, so the missing blue elements from the hats and britches aren’t particularly noticeable. The white/red/white shoulder stripes and white numbers outlined in red give the blue jersey a cohesive feel.
I’m not especially in love with the way the team has scrunched “WESTERN COLLEGE” in a thin white font, outlined in red, across the top of the numbers, and the Miami RedHawks classic “M” logo also seems to be forced into a very small space above the wordmark. Since this is not a throwback (but rather “mimics a 1970s-era throwback”), I would have preferred they double-stack “WESTERN COLLEGE” and either eliminated the “M” logo or perhaps have moved it either to the sleeve caps or the shoulders. The front numbers could also have been placed a bit lower. But I get what they are going for.
It’s a pretty good look regardless, and the team has put it together in a way that they are able to pair their normal red/white helmets and pants with the new jersey.
“We are excited to honor the legacy and tradition of Western College,” Miami athletic director David Sayler said in a statement. “As our football team takes the field for Homecoming, these unique jerseys will add to a special atmosphere at Yager Stadium and help celebrate the enduring relationship between Miami and Western.”
Your thoughts?
Gotta put an all-ladies 11 out there at some point to take at least one snap. What could go wrong??
NCAA flag football coming soon.
Pretty nice. I went to Miami for a year and liked to go to the “Western” part of campus for a change of pace, and it is ironically on the southeastern side.
Alum here. I can’t tell you how much I hate this. Western never had a football team (obviously) so why are we doing a half-assed blue jersey for them? This is a school that has REFUSED to have alternate jerseys outside of a few select years — and even then they were gray (blech!) They least they could have done was invert the M and add some blue to the pants and helmets and at least make it look like they put some effort in.
Aside from the terribly shoehorned “M” logo, what’s not to like? These are gorgeous and pay tribute to a part of the school’s history that I’ll go out on a limb and guess rarely gets honored by their men’s teams.
Mimicking some basketball jerseys, I would like to have seen “Western” above the numbers and “College” below the numbers.
I agree about shoehorning the M logo on the front of the jersey. It’s a bit redundant since they already have it on the helmet. Otherwise it’s a nice looking uniform. Let’s see where it ends up in the 5&1.
As an alum of Miami’s Western College Program, I don’t hate it. (Too much red, but I get it.) I do love the irony of a football team honoring a women’s college. As one classmate pointed out, given the Western program’s liberal/liberal arts leanings, the only thing more appropriate would have been tie-dyed unis.
As an alum of Miami’s Western College Program, I don’t hate it. (Too much red, but I get it.) I do love the irony of a football team honoring a women’s college. As one classmate pointed out, given the Western program’s liberal/liberal arts leanings, the only thing more appropriate would have been tie-dyed unis.
The uniforms aren’t horrible, but the concept of fake “throwbacks” in colors that have nothing to do with Miami representing a school that never had football is moronic (in general and as an alum). Field hockey, volleyball and soccer are home this weekend and more fitting for this.