The Rate Bowl — one of the more annoying names for a bowl game — will be played this Thursday in Phoenix, between Kansas State and Rutgers. When the Kansas State Wildcats take the field, they’ll be eschewing their classic silver/purple/silver uniforms for a slightly different look. They’ll be donning their alternate white helmets and pants for the big game.
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 20, 2024
Wildcats Offensive Lineman Taylor Poitier said of the alternates, “We rarely get to wear those types of uniform combos, so I’m really excited to wear them. They’ll look pretty cool out there.”
Fun fact about K-State’s regular uniforms: Like Iowa and the Pittsburgh Steelers, K-State’s uniforms were modeled after those worn by the Dallas Cowboys.
In 1989, the Kansas State Wildcats football team began wearing purple jerseys as part of their traditional uniforms, which they’ve continued to wear at home ever since, and have basically remained unchanged since then. The Wildcats have made some minor changes to their uniforms in the nonce, including wearing white helmets and pants, and using alternate logos. However, the team has generally stayed true to their traditional colors and look.
So if you tune into the Rate Bowl on Boxing Day expecting to see the Wildcats in silver/purple/silver, you’ll be in for a bit of a surprise. The white helmet and pants were first introduced in 2016, and the team has broken them out just a few times since. They are one of the more tradition-bound teams in College football.
While some teams will break out a certain uniform combination because it is “lucky,” Kansas State has not fared particularly well when wearing white helmets and slacks. Since 2019 they’re 0-4 in white/purple/white.
So are the uniforms cursed?
Not according to some players. Junior linebacker Desmond Purnell said, “I’ve heard about that a little bit, but that’s not going to do anything to us. It’s about how we come out there and play. It’s a nice new look, I guess, but I don’t really focus on it too much, personally. Just go out there, play the game and do what we do best.”
Taylor Portier added, “Hopefully in the future, after this game, if we can change that around and stuff, they can continue to wear those alternate uniforms. It wouldn’t be considered a curse anymore. So, I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully all things change.”
I love how K-State have been pretty traditional for decades now with their uniforms, and I don’t mind the white helmets and pants. I prefer the silver and purple, but if the players — who were offered the white/purple/white look and want to wear it — are good to go with it, then I say, let them have some fun with the alternate. It’s not that big a change, after all.
What do you think of Kansas State’s sartorial decision? Would you rather see them in their “traditional” look or do you prefer the white/purple/white?
I like it a lot if they’d incorporate some silver on the helmet and pants.
I am a born and bred Kansan, and K-State has long been my favorite between it and KU, so I claim the Wildcats as “my” team. And I am all right with their white helmets and pants – white and not silver is an official KSU color – and the Power Cat logo, created when Bill Snyder began to right the program, is one of the best designs in major college sports. The whites are an alternate look but still will look like themselves.They have done other alternate logos, like the pennant waving Willie the Wildcat on the lede photo, but I prefer this cleaner alternate for their bowl game. That said, EMAW: Every Man (and woman) A Wildcat!
KSU’s uniforms are yet another example of how the Cowboys’ white “home” look could look great if they fixed all the stupid inconsistencies with the colors of the pants, and the mismatched royal/navy blues.
Agree totally with this!
KSU’s normal uniform is one of my favorite looks in college football. Personally, I feel the silver is several times better than the white. While I occasionally like white pants, usually other colors are better such as light blue, gold, silver, etc. with a dark jersey.
This isn’t a bad look per se (white pants need stripes) but the traditional K-State silver/purple/silver look is far superior. It’s always a treat to see them on a random Saturday afternoon in October. It’s one of my favorite college unis and I cheer them on even though I have no connection to them.
This is a really good look
Add a purple stripe on those white pants and I give it a thumbs up. But players, both college and pro, seem to like yoga pants or biker shorts without any stripes and I do not get it why they like it so much. I can only guess: show off their legs even more? Extension of the minimalist all black and all white taste in uniforms? Striping means extra weight to carry around? Uniform suppliers wants to cut costs at all costs?
I got excited when I saw the Willie with the pennant logo on that first helmet. They need to go to that full time immediately. That “power cat” was cool for a year or two back in the 90’s, but much like the Denver Broncos’ logo, it has not aged well at all. Oh well, it looks like in hierarchy of the College Football Playoff standings, they are always going to sit just outside the top 12 as they did this season, so it really doesn’t matter too much.
Kstate modeled after the Cowboys because they though it would help to recruit in Texas after B12 expanded with those Texas teams.