What makes a great/bad college hockey jersey?

[Towerroad]

As a separate thread what makes a great/bad college hockey jersey, aside from our beloved Red which of course is the best on the planet. Please post examples. Here is an example of bland nothing:

http://www.gocrimson.com/marketplace/auctions/HockeyJersey[/url]

and here is one I like

http://shop.cbssports.com/CBS_Maine_Black_Bears_Jerseys_Hockey/Maine_Black_Bears_White_Tackle_Twill_College_Hockey_Jersey

[Robb]

What makes a great hockey jersey?  I'm guessing one of the strongest influences is whether or not you're a fan of the team whose particular jersey is in question!

[Beeeej]

What you call "bland nothing" I call "classic."  I certainly didn't like the Harvard men's hockey teams of the 1990s, but at least they didn't start slapping that goofy pilgrim-looking guy all over their jerseys.

[Al DeFlorio]

What you call "bland nothing" I call "classic."

Agree. One of the best things about Harvard's unis is that they've changed little over the years.  There was a brief period when they sported an ugly large "H" on the chest, but that seems to have passed blessedly into oblivion.

I'm not a big fan of two tones of the same color on a uni, a la Maine.  Or script lettering.  Double stripes everywhere, a la the BU throwbacks of a year or two ago, can be hard on the eyes.  Block numbers are easiest to see.  Keep things simple.  Avoid frequent makeovers.  And don't mess with what's classic (e.g., see the atrocities Navy wore in yesterday's Army-Navy game).

[css228]

INCH's take on this. I think they're generally right that is best to avoid cartoonish jerseys (e.g. Ferris State). Most of our league has pretty classy jerseys, especially some of the non-Ivy's like SLU, RPI and Clarkson's away greens. Clean, classic jerseys, good color schemes, Princeton's black jerseys are pretty sweet, but I'm not a big fan of the whites or the oranges they occasionally use. Least favorite in the league are Union and QPac, for different reasons. QPac is just too busy, Union's color scheme is just not my thing. As for the other simple jersey's in the league (Colgate, Yale and Dartmouth) I just don't think they have the history and tradition to back it up. I tend to feel the understated simple look works best when you have tons of tradition to speak for you (e,g, schools like Michigan, Minnestoa, BU, Wisconsin, and of course Cornell). The plain blue and white works for Penn State football because it has history. UNC basketball's classy blue and white jerseys don't need need alteration because of instant recognizability (please get rid of the hologram you guys added to the back). Something like Yale just doesn't work because the jerseys don't conjure up images of great Yale hockey past the same way Minnesota's sweaters do. But overall ECAC hockey doesn't have many bad jersey's, it just has some that are fantastic and some that leave me ambivalent. And Maine's jersey's are great, both home and away.

[Aaron M. Griffin]

INCH's take on this. I think they're generally right that is best to avoid cartoonish jerseys (e.g. Ferris State). Most of our league has pretty classy jerseys, especially some of the non-Ivy's like SLU, RPI and Clarkson's away greens. Clean, classic jerseys, good color schemes, Princeton's black jerseys are pretty sweet, but I'm not a big fan of the whites or the oranges they occasionally use. Least favorite in the league are Union and QPac, for different reasons. QPac is just too busy, Union's color scheme is just not my thing. As for the other simple jersey's in the league (Colgate, Yale and Dartmouth) I just don't think they have the history and tradition to back it up. I tend to feel the understated simple look works best when you have tons of tradition to speak for you (e,g, schools like Michigan, Minnestoa, BU, Wisconsin, and of course Cornell). The plain blue and white works for Penn State football because I has history. UNC basketball's classy blue and white jerseys don't need need alteration because of instant recognizably (please get rid of the hologram you guys added to the back). Something like Yale just doesn't work because the jerseys don't conjure up images of great Yale hockey past the same way Minnesota's sweaters do. But overall ECAC hockey doesn't have many bad jersey's, it just has some that are fantastic and some that leave me ambivalent. And Maine's jersey's are great, both home and away.

I am fairly certain that Yale would beg to differ. They have begun historical revision and now claim that they have a proud hockey tradition. Yale contends that it is the oldest collegiate hockey program in the nation. I think that some of Yale's program's propaganda even claims that they introduced the sport of hockey to the United States. As for their sweaters, I don't mind their away blues (as much as it pains me to admit that I like something from Yale), but their home whites are not aesthetically pleasing.

I like Union's color scheme. I like how their whites are the same as BU/Red Wings jerseys but with "garnet" sleeves. I like their prominent display of a version of the Union College seal on the front of that jersey as well. The black jerseys they use are nice too. I like the contrast between the "garnet," black, and white, and the fact that with those jerseys they avoided descendants into cartoonishness by using just "Union" emblazoned across the front.

Other than that, I agree with your conclusions. Quinnipiac's jersey look cartoonish. I do like the use of crests on the shoulder panels of both Harvard's and RPI's jerseys. Were Cornell to introduce a promotional jersey for an event (for an outdoor game perhaps) or an alternative jersey, I think it would be acceptable to include the Cornell University crest in a similar manner.

Worst jerseys in college hockey are those that use the cartoonish logos prominently displayed: Minnesota-Duluth, Alaska-Anchorage (not the jersey that reads "Seawolves" diagonally, I might dislike the color scheme more than the logo), and Ferris State. I do like Michigan State's jersey despite its use of a logo prominently, probably because the jersey other than the use of the Spartan helmet is traditional in its use of color and name placement.

One jersey that I despise that will become probably a jersey of a DI hockey program next year is the current jerseys that the Penn State hockey team wears. If the Nittany Lion logo is to be present on the jersey, I wish it were understated on he sleeves or shoulders rather than forced on the front in a manner that forces the team name and the logo to appear thrown together. The use of gray piping is a horrible design choice. I think that Penn State should err more toward its traditional football roots with classic simplicity, so adding a color to the palette for their hockey sweater makes no sense. (Yes, I know that other Penn State teams use gray in their color schemes). I think the colored piping in general on these jerseys is atrocious. I hope that Penn States changes to something more traditional before their DI debut. Better yet, I hope (knowing that it is unlikely) that Penn State will debut new jerseys that will represent the future Penn State sweater at their January 4, 2012 game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of the Winter Classic festivities so that I will not have to endure seeing this sweater again.

[css228]

INCH's take on this. I think they're generally right that is best to avoid cartoonish jerseys (e.g. Ferris State). Most of our league has pretty classy jerseys, especially some of the non-Ivy's like SLU, RPI and Clarkson's away greens. Clean, classic jerseys, good color schemes, Princeton's black jerseys are pretty sweet, but I'm not a big fan of the whites or the oranges they occasionally use. Least favorite in the league are Union and QPac, for different reasons. QPac is just too busy, Union's color scheme is just not my thing. As for the other simple jersey's in the league (Colgate, Yale and Dartmouth) I just don't think they have the history and tradition to back it up. I tend to feel the understated simple look works best when you have tons of tradition to speak for you (e,g, schools like Michigan, Minnestoa, BU, Wisconsin, and of course Cornell). The plain blue and white works for Penn State football because I has history. UNC basketball's classy blue and white jerseys don't need need alteration because of instant recognizably (please get rid of the hologram you guys added to the back). Something like Yale just doesn't work because the jerseys don't conjure up images of great Yale hockey past the same way Minnesota's sweaters do. But overall ECAC hockey doesn't have many bad jersey's, it just has some that are fantastic and some that leave me ambivalent. And Maine's jersey's are great, both home and away.

I am fairly certain that Yale would beg to differ. They have begun historical revision and now claim that they have a proud hockey tradition. Yale contends that it is the oldest collegiate hockey program in the nation. I think that some of Yale's program's propaganda even claims that they introduced the sport of hockey to the United States. As for their sweaters, I don't mind their away blues (as much as it pains me to admit that I like something from Yale), but their home whites are not aesthetically pleasing.

I like Union's color scheme. I like how their whites are the same as BU/Red Wings jerseys but with "garnet" sleeves. I like their prominent display of a version of the Union College seal on the front of that jersey as well. The black jerseys they use are nice too. I like the contrast between the "garnet," black, and white, and the fact that with those jerseys they avoided descendants into cartoonishness by using just "Union" emblazoned across the front.

Other than that, I agree with your conclusions. Quinnipiac's jersey look cartoonish. I do like the use of crests on the shoulder panels of both Harvard's and RPI's jerseys. Were Cornell to introduce a promotional jersey for an event (for an outdoor game perhaps) or an alternative jersey, I think it would be acceptable to include the Cornell University crest in a similar manner.

Worst jerseys in college hockey are those that use the cartoonish logos prominently displayed: Minnesota-Duluth, Alaska-Anchorage (not the jersey that reads "Seawolves" diagonally, I might dislike the color scheme more than the logo), and Ferris State. I do like Michigan State's jersey despite its use of a logo prominently, probably because the jersey other than the use of the Spartan helmet is traditional in its use of color and name placement.

One jersey that I despise that will become probably a jersey of a DI hockey program next year is the current jerseys that the Penn State hockey team wears. If the Nittany Lion logo is to be present on the jersey, I wish it were understated on he sleeves or shoulders rather than forced on the front in a manner that forces the team name and the logo to appear thrown together. The use of gray piping is a horrible design choice. I think that Penn State should err more toward its traditional football roots with classic simplicity, so adding a color to the palette for their hockey sweater makes no sense. (Yes, I know that other Penn State teams use gray in their color schemes). I think the colored piping in general on these jerseys is atrocious. I hope that Penn States changes to something more traditional before their DI debut. Better yet, I hope (knowing that it is unlikely) that Penn State will debut new jerseys that will represent the future Penn State sweater at their January 4, 2012 game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of the Winter Classic festivities so that I will not have to endure seeing this sweater again.

Penn State could be better but its not a terrible one. As far as Yale goes, the away blues are nice, I was referring more to their home whites. As for Union, I don't know something just doesn't sit right with me, but it is a bit unfair to criticize a school on their color scheme as long as they are staying true to their school colors. You have to work with the colors you're given. I agree that a crest on a special alternate would be nice, but its not necessarily great on a regular basis. One more note, Clarkson's home whites with the Knight helmet are disappointing.

[Aaron M. Griffin]

One more note, Clarkson's home whites with the Knight helmet are disappointing.

I agree entirely. I wasn't going to point that out, but I feel that they are disappointing when compared to their other jerseys and the jerseys in the rest of the ECAC.

For Penn State, I am probably just being biased that a school with such traditions in most other sports (when Nike encouraged them to get flashier and more Oregon-esque with their football jerseys last season, Penn State responded with requesting new jerseys from Nike that removed the white trim on the neck and sleeves of their jerseys) and classic looks uses that sweater on the ice. I feel that Penn State would be more in line with what one would expect of a Penn State hockey sweater if they followed a simple design like that used on Michigan's (especially their diagonal maize sweater) and Cornell's jerseys.

[ftyuv]

I actually like Maine's a lot -- the two-tone blues work for me. I also like BC's a lot.

I don't know if I can list the attributes of what makes it good or bad, though. Hockey sweaters are like porn in that regard.

[ugarte]

WHY DO I READ THESE THREADS!?

[ansky629]

I would say Cornell's current jerseys are pretty much it.  Classic, clean and catches the eye.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I like simple and classic.  Not a lot of colors and stripes and not a lot of patterns.  To be honest, I've always like Dartmouth's sweaters.

If a logo is used instead of words, it needs to be simple and not-cartoonish - think Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North-Stars, I think those Penn Sate unis would work if it was just the words or just the logo, but not both.  Shoulder logos are OK if they're simple and complimentary - like the Blackhawks "C" with crossed tomahawks or even the Avalanche's bigfeet.  Logos that can only be drawn by a professional artist are out, e.g. Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Quinnipiac Fighting Deer Ticks.  And if you create a new logo just to sell merchandise, that's a non-starter.

If you're going to put words there it needs to be traditional block fonts.  Like Cornell.  No cursive writing.  I've always liked the Rangers traditional sweater with the word Rangers running diagonally, but I hate the shield and the statue of liberty logos.  But I detest single letters like Minnesota or Michigan, though that might just be because I dislike those teams.

[Drew]

One more note, Clarkson's home whites with the Knight helmet are disappointing.

I couldn't agree more.  I don't like any of the "cartoon like" sweaters, tUMD, Clarkson, Qpac etc.

[Al DeFlorio]

I like simple and classic.  Not a lot of colors and stripes and not a lot of patterns.  To be honest, I've always like Dartmouth's sweaters.

If a logo is used instead of words, it needs to be simple and not-cartoonish - think Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North-Stars, I think those Penn Sate unis would work if it was just the words or just the logo, but not both.  Shoulder logos are OK if they're simple and complimentary - like the Blackhawks "C" with crossed tomahawks or even the Avalanche's bigfeet.  Logos that can only be drawn by a professional artist are out, e.g. Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Quinnipiac Fighting Deer Ticks.  And if you create a new logo just to sell merchandise, that's a non-starter.

If you're going to put words there it needs to be traditional block fonts.  Like Cornell.  No cursive writing.  I've always liked the Rangers traditional sweater with the word Rangers running diagonally, but I hate the shield and the statue of liberty logos.  But I detest single letters like Minnesota or Michigan, though that might just be because I dislike those teams.

Agree 100%, except that sometimes Dartmouth goes away from the "classic" look and does strange things.  Once, maybe ten years or so ago, they elongated the Dartmouth lettering on the front to the point where it was illegible.  And there may have been times when they went to double stripes everywhere, which is just too busy and hard on the eyes.  But dark green on white, or vice versa, is a nice look, with no frills or fripperies.

[Jim Hyla]

You want bad? From ECAC article on Spengler Cup.