By Ryan Sullivan
LEWISTON, N.Y. – Niagara University has a storied history in terms of alumni, academics and sports. All of those three areas have changed over the years and, in that, so have the jerseys.
Niagara is a school that is associated with purple of course, but we also have had times where silver, white, and black were included. An oddity not in that association is the color yellow which so often gets paired with those respective colors, especially purple (see Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns or L.A. Kings). The current jerseys for the women’s basketball home jerseys and men’s hockey away jerseys need to change. We’ll start with the women.
With “Niagara” written across the grey base, the jerseys tend to have a flat look. In contrast, their practice jerseys which contain black and purple are much more sleek and stylish than their game-worn counterpart. Why not make the practice jersey concept the main piece at home and change that “Niagara” to “Purple Eagles’ like the standard professional basketball jersey has? After all, away jerseys are colored and list city, where home is white and contains team name on the front. A simple change, but is something to consider.
As for hockey, the team is under new coaching/management and have this new team feel. Like so, the jerseys should reflect a new era of hockey under coach Lammers. The jerseys here, they’re flat. Simply, they look like Grimace, the 1990’s member of McDonald’s promotion group alongside Ronald McDonald and others. Though I want to keep the color purple and keep that almost “royal” feel you have with this jersey, I do want to change a few things. Why not add more stripes and color specifically to the pants/socks? In addition, why not add some reflection or texture to the jerseys themselves (the stripe on the sleeves)? Mustard yellow could be a nice inclusion too. A touch of either would really make the jerseys pop.
Overall, these changes to the jerseys would create a marketable piece fans would want to buy and wear. It creates the intimidation a jersey hopes to represent.
Niagara Wire 