NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Independents
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| ARMY WEST POINT |
BRIGHAM YOUNG |
CONNECTICUT |
| "Black Knights" |
"Cougars" |
"Huskies" |
| West Point, NY |
Provo, UT |
Storrs, CT |
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| LIBERTY |
MASSACHUSETTS |
NEW MEXICO STATE |
| "Flames" |
"Minutemen" |
"Aggies" |
| Lynchburg, VA |
Amherst, MA |
Las Cruces, NM |
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| NOTRE DAME |
| "Fighting Irish" |
| South Bend, IN |
Historical Helmets
ARMY WEST POINT
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| 1957 - 1971 |
1972 - 1973 |
1972; 1974 - 1977 |
| *see note 1 below |
*see note 2 below |
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| 1979 - 1980 |
1981 - 1982 |
2008 |
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'B' |
'C' |
1977 - 1978; 1983 - 2007;
2009 - 2011 |
2008; 2010; 2013; 2014 |
2010; 2014; 2016 - 2017 |
| *see note 5 below |
*see note 3 below |
*see note 4 below |
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'D' |
'E' |
| 2012 (first 11 games) |
2014 |
2014 |
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*see note 6 below |
*see note 7 below |
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| 'F' |
'G' |
'H' |
| November 15, 2014 |
November 7, 2015 |
December 12, 2015 |
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*see note 8 below |
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| 'I' |
'J' |
'K' |
| December 10, 2016 |
December 9, 2017 |
December 8, 2018 |
| *see note 9 below |
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| 'L' |
'M' |
'N' |
| December 14, 2019 |
December 12, 2020 |
December 11, 2021 |
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| 'O' |
'A' |
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| December 10, 2022 |
2012 - |
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During recent years Army has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2022: A-A-A; A-C-A; A-C-A; A-A-O
- 2021: A-A-A; C-A-C; A-C-A; C-C-N; A (the last game being vs Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, TX)
- 2020: A-A-C; A-C-A; A-A-C; M-C-A (the last game being vs West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis, TN)
- 2019: A-C-A; A-C-A; A-A-C; A-A-A; L
- 2018: A-A-A; C-A-A; A-A-C; A-A-K; A (the last game being vs Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, TX)
- 2017: C-A-A; A-A-A; A-A-C; A-C-J; C (the last game being vs San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, TX)
- 2016: A-A-A; A-A-A; A-A-A; A-A-I; C (the last game being vs North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl at Dallas, TX)
- 2015: A-A-A; A-A-A; A-A-G; A-A-H
- 2014: C-A-A; D-E-B; B-D-F; A-D-A
- 2013: A-A-A; A-A-A; A-A-B; B-A-A
*1 In 1969 Army used a version of the college football centennial "100" decal on their helmets; it was worn on the back side of the helmet, just above the bottom, and would not be visible from the perspective I use at this web site. The football shape was some dark color (perhaps black, but quite possibly blue or some other color), outlined in white, and with white numerals. I have seen one photograph where some renegade player had placed the decal on the side of his helmet, but the rear placement was clearly the standard position for it. The 1969 helmets were otherwise identical to this one.
*2 This design was used throughout the 1972 and 1973 seasons with the exceptions of games #3 and #4 in 1972; for those games (vs Lehigh and Penn State), the logo was absent and the helmets therefore resembled the one shown above labelled "1972; 1974 - 1977".
*3 Helmets with a digital camouflage pattern were worn December 6, 2008 (vs Navy), October 30, 2010 (vs Virginia Military Institute), November 2, 2013 (at Air Force), November 9, 2013 (vs Western Kentucky), October 11, 2014 (vs Rice), and October 18, 2014 (at Kent State). The patterns apparently varied from one helmet to the next, at least during the more recent seasons.
*4 Worn November 6, 2010 (vs Air Force) and September 6, 2014 (vs Buffalo).
*5 Army first used black faceguards for the 1977 game against Navy; gray ones had been used for all earlier games that season.
*6 I have received conflicting descriptions of the color of the stripe on this design - some people have reported that a white stripe was used, but it appears to be pale gray in the clearest photographs which I have seen.
*7 This design differs from 'D' in that the stripe has a camouflage pattern.
*8 Worn vs Navy at Philadephia, PA. Uniform numerals were worn on the left side only of each Army helmet during this game. On the right side of each helmet was one of seventeen different logos representing "the 17 branches [of the Army] cadets can enter after graduation"; below are representations of these designs.
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| Adjutant General Branch |
Air Defense Artillery
Branch |
Armor Branch |
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| Aviation Branch |
Chemical Branch |
Corps of Engineers
Branch |
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| Cyber Branch |
Field Artillery Branch |
Financial Management
Branch |
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| Infantry Branch |
Medical Services Corps
Branch |
Military Intelligence
Branch |
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| Military Police Branch |
Ordnance Branch |
Quartermaster Corps
Branch |
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| Signal Corps Branch |
Transportation Branch |
*9 Worn vs Navy at Baltimore, MD. During this game seven different helmet "logos" were worn by Army; these were the insignia of various units of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division as constituted during the Second World War; below are representations of these designs. Many helmets had the logo on one side only; the left side of many helmets was "blank".
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504th Parachute
Infantry Regiment |
505th Parachute
Infantry Regiment |
508th Parachute
Infantry Regiment |
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307th Airborne
Engineer Battalion |
325th Glider
Infantry Regiment |
456th Parachute Field
Artillery Battalion |
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| Paragliders |
BRIGHAM YOUNG
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| 1955 - 1960 |
c.1962 |
1964 - 1965 |
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| 1966 - 1968 |
1969 |
1969 - 1977 |
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*see note 1 below |
*see note 1 below |
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| 1978 regular season |
October 28, 1989 |
December 22, 1978 - 1997;
2009; 2013; 2014 |
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*see note 2 below |
*see note 3 below |
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| 1998 |
1999 - 2004 |
December 30, 2011 |
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October 13, 2012;
November 15, 2014 |
September 11, 2014 |
November 26, 2016 |
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| 'A' |
'B' |
'C' |
| 2005 - |
October 3, 2014; 2019 - |
2019 - |
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| 'D' |
'E' |
'F' |
| 2020 - |
2020 - |
2020 - |
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| 'G' |
'H' |
'I' |
| 2021 - |
2021 - |
2021 - |
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| 'J' |
'K' |
'L' |
| 2021 - |
2022 - |
2022 - |
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*see note 4 below |
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| 'M' |
'N' |
'O' |
| 2022 - |
2022 - |
2022 - |
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During recent years BYU has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2022: A-I-G; A-G-K; L-B-E; M-E-N; O (the last game being vs Southern Methodist in the New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque, NM)
- 2021: G-E-B; A-E-H; H-A-I; J-G-I; J (the last game being vs UAB in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, LA)
- 2020: B-B-B; A-B-A; A-B-D; E-F-B (the last game being vs UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl at Boca Raton, FL)
- 2019: B-A-A; C-A-A; B-B-A; B-A-B; B (the last game being vs Hawai'i in the Hawai'i Bowl at Honolulu, HI)
*1 In 1969 the "100" logo was worn on the left sides of BYU's helmets and the "Y" logo was worn on the right sides.
*2 During the 1989 game at Hawai'i BYU wore a red circle on the left sides of their helmets (see photo below); the usual "Y" logo was in place on the right sides. The purpose of this "logo" was lost for a number of years but the mystery has apparently now been solved, see: https://uni-watch.com/2018/09/26/solved-the-mystery-of-byus-red-dot/ . (It was associated with an anti-drug abuse program.)
*3 This helmet design was first used during BYU's appearance in the inaugural Holiday Bowl game against Navy at the end of the 1978 season. From 1979 to 1983 both blue and white facemasks were worn without regards to a uniform appearance for the team, although blue was always the predominant color. This design was used once again during the home game against Utah on November 28, 2009 and again during the Las Vegas Bowl game against Oregon State at the end of the 2009 season (December 22). Additional appearances were September 21, 2013 (vs Utah) and October 3, 2014 (vs Utah State).
*4 The cougar is present on the left side only of this design; the traditional "Y" logo is worn on the right side above a mountain scene (as depicted below).
CONNECTICUT
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| 1965 |
1966 |
1967 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1968; 1970 |
1971 - 1972 |
1973 - 1975 |
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| 1976 - 1977 |
1978 - 1982 |
1983 - 1989 |
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| 1990 - 1993 |
1994 |
1995 - 1998 |
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'G' |
| 1999 - 2001 |
2002 |
2003 - 2012; 2018 - |
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| 'A' |
'B' |
'C' |
| 2013 - 2014 |
2013 - 2014 |
2014 |
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| 'D' |
'E' |
'F' |
| 2015 - |
2015 - |
2015 - |
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| 'H' |
'I' |
'J' |
| 2018 - |
2018 - |
2018 - |
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| 'K' |
'L' |
'M' |
| 2019 - |
2019 - |
2019 - |
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| 'N' |
'O' |
'P' |
| 2022 - |
2022 - |
2022 - |
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During recent years Connecticut has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2022: N-N-I; I-N-O; O-O-N; P-Q-N; N (the last game being vs Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at Conway, SC)
- 2021: L-M-G; K-G-K; M-M-L; L-M-L
- 2020: [no season played due to the viral pandemic]
- 2019: G-K-K; L-G-M; K-K-G; L-G-K
- 2018: G-H-I; G-G-I; G-I-I; J-I-G
- 2017: E (entire season)
- 2016: D-E-E; F-D-D; D-D-E; F-E-E
- 2015: D-D-D; E-E-D; D-D-F; E-F-E; D (the last game being the St Petersburg Bowl vs Marshall, at St Petersburg, FL)
- 2014: B-A-B; A-B-A; C-C-C; C-C-C
- 2013: A-B-A; B-B-A; A-B-B; A-A-A
In 1969 Connecticut used a logo consisting of the number "100" inside a football shape to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first college football game; I would appreciate any clear color photographs of UConn's version of this helmet.
*1 The 1965 Connecticut helmet design was a peculiar one - the left half of the shell was white and the right side blue, with the same logo on each side, but with the colors inverted (hence the right side looked like the '1964' design shown above).
LIBERTY
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| 1977 - 1978 |
1979 - 1983 |
1984 |
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*see note 1 below |
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| 1985 |
1987 - 1988 |
1991 |
| *see note 1 below |
*see note 1 below |
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| 1986; 1989 - 1990; 1992 |
1993 |
1994 - 1999 |
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| 2000 |
2001 - 2003 |
2004 - 2005 |
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| November 20, 2010 |
2006 - 2010 |
2011 - 2012 |
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| 'A' |
'B' |
'C' |
| 2013 - |
2013 |
2013 - |
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| 'D' |
'E' |
'F' |
| 2014 - |
2014 - 2015 |
2016 - |
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| 'G' |
'H' |
'I' |
| 2018 - |
2018 - |
2018 - |
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*see note 2 below |
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| 'J' |
'K' |
'L' |
| 2019 - |
2019 - |
2019 - |
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During recent years Liberty has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2022: J-J-K; K-K-C; C-J-C; K-C-E; K (the last game being vs Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl at Boca Raton, FL)
- 2021: K-K-C; C-K-C; J-J-C; K-E-J; C (the last game being vs Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl at Mobile, AL)
- 2020: J-K-J; C-K-K; C-F-J; K-J (the last game being vs Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl at Orlando, FL)
- 2019: J-C-K; K-C-J; C-J-J; J-J-L; K (the last game being vs Georgia Southern in the Cure Bowl at Orlando, FL)
- 2018: G-G-D; D-G-G; H-G-D; C-I-D
- 2017: A-D-A; D-A-D; D-C-D; F-A
- 2016: D-A-D; D-C-A; C-A-A; F-A
- 2015: C-C-D; A-D-D; A-C-E; D-D
- 2014: C-A-A; C-A-D; D-A-D; E-D-D; D-A (the last two games being FCS playoff games at James Madison and at Villanova).
- 2013: A-B-A; A-A-B; B-C-C; B-C-B
This school's football team played its first season in 1973, at which time the school name was Lynchburg Baptist College and the team colors were gold and green. In 1976 the name was changed to Liberty Baptist College and blue, red, and white were adopted as the school colors. The team was affiliated with both the NAIA and NCAA for a few years before switching solely to NCAA Division II in 1983. The college was renamed Liberty University in 1985 and a move to NCAA Division I-AA occurred in 1988.
The two "known" "missing" helmet designs used by this team are those used in 1976 and 1993; below are photographs of these:
The 1976 design appears to have a "liberty bell" symbol with the number 76 across its lower portion; the colors used on this design are unknown but the helmet color is presumably blue. In 1993 Liberty used red helmets with the word "Liberty" in a script style, apparently blue with a white or silver outline. Clearer photographs of either of these designs would be appreciated greatly.
*1 The stripe sequence on each of these helmet designs is (from left to right) blue-white-red.
*2 The "'71" on this design (commemorating Lynchburg Baptist College's first year of operations) is worn on the left side only; a logo is worn on the right side (as shown below).
MASSACHUSETTS
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| 1963 - 1968 |
1970 - 1972 |
1973 |
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| 1974 - 1984 |
1985 |
? - 1962; 1986 |
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| 1987 |
1988 |
1989 - 1992 |
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*see note 1 below |
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| 1993 - 2002 |
2003 - 2004 |
2005 -
September 1, 2011 |
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'B' |
| 2011 |
October 20, 2012 |
2013;
September 27, 2014 |
| *see note 2 below |
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| 'C' |
'D' |
'A' |
| 2013 |
2013 |
2012 - 2013 |
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| 'E' |
'F' |
'G' |
| 2014 - 2016 |
2015 - 2017 |
2017 |
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| 'H' |
'I' |
'J' |
| 2018 |
2018- |
2019; 2021 - |
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| 'K' |
'L' |
'M' |
| 2019 |
2019 - |
2019 - |
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During recent years Massachusetts has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2022: N-N-O; O-N-N; N-J-L; L-J-L
- 2021: L-J-L; N-L-J; L-N-J; N-N-L
- 2020: L (entire season (four games))
- 2019: J-K-L; K-L-L; K-M-L; K-L-K
- 2018: H-H-B; H-H-B; I-H-B; H-H-H
- 2017: F-F-F; F-B-G; F-F-F; F-B-B
- 2016: F-B-F; B-F-F; F-F-B; F-F-F
- 2015: E-B-E; E-E-B; B-F-B; F-F-F
- 2014: E-E-E; E-B-E; B-E-E; E-E-E
- 2013: A-B-A; A-A-C; C-B-D; B-A-B
The above are to the best of my knowledge all of the different helmet designs used by Massachusetts during the period covered by this website (1960 to present).
*1 This design is identical to the one used in 1988 but for the addition of the word "AMHERST" in small letters below the "UM" logo (the letters are obviously not legible in the image size used here).
*2 First worn during the second game of the 2011 season (September 17 vs Rhode Island). This design has an asymmetrical stripe sequence - the white middle stripe is bordered by a blue stripe on the left, and by a red stripe on the right.
NEW MEXICO STATE
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| 1960 - 1965 |
1966 - 1968 |
1969 |
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| 1970 - 1972 |
1973 |
1974 - 1977 |
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| 1978 - 1982 |
1983 - 1985 |
1986 |
| |
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| 1987 - 1989 |
1990 - 1994 |
1995 - 2004 |
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| October 18, 2008 |
2005 - 2008 |
2009 - 2012 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 'A' |
'B' |
'C' (and'C1' through 'C7') |
| 2013 - 2015 |
2015 |
2016 - 2017; 2020* |
| |
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*see note 2 below |
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| 'D' |
'E' |
'F' |
| 2017 |
2018 |
2018 |
| |
*see note 3 below |
*see note 4 below |
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| 'G' (& 'G1','G2',&'G3') |
'H' |
'I' (and 'I1') |
| 2019 |
2019 |
2021 - |
| *see note 5 below |
*see note 6 below |
*see note 7 below |
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| 'J' |
'K' (and 'K1') |
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| 2021 - |
2022 - |
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| *see note 8 below |
*see note 9 below |
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During recent years NMSU has used the following sequences of helmet designs:
- 2021: I-I-I; I1-I1-I1; I1-I1-J; J-I-I
- 2020*: C7-C7
- 2019: G-G-G1; G2-G2-G3; G3-G3-G3; H-H-H
- 2018: E-E-F; F-F-C5; C5-C1-C1; C6-C6-C6
- 2017: C3-C3-C3; C4-C4-C4; C4-C1-C1; C1-D-D; D (the last game being vs Utah State in the Arizona Bowl at Tuscon, AZ)
- 2016: C-C-C; C-C1-C1; C2-C2-C2; C2-C2-C2
- 2015: A-A-B; B-B-A; A-A-A; A-A-A
*1 The "ribbon" logo is present on the left side only of this design; on the right side is the "Aggies" logo worn on both sides of the design labelled "2005 - 2008".
*2 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side of designs 'C', 'C1', 'C2', 'C3', 'C4', 'C5', 'C6', and 'C7', but a different logo is present on the right side of each of these (as represented below).
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| 'C6' |
'C7' |
*3 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; on the right side is a logo depicting two pistols (as represented below).
*4 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is worn on the right side (as represented below).
*5 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side of designs 'G', 'G1', 'G2', and 'G3' but a different logo is present on the right side of each of these (as represented below).
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| 'G3' |
*6 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is worn on the right side (as represented below).
*7 Uniform numbers are worn on the left sides only of designs 'I' and 'I1'; logos are worn on the right sides as depicted below..
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| 'I' |
'I1' |
*8 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of design 'J'; a logo is present on the right side (as represented below).
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*9 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of both 'K' and 'K1'; different logos are present on the right sides of these (as represented below).
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| 'K' |
'K1' |
NOTRE DAME
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1959 - 1962;
September 10, 2011 |
1963 |
November 12, 2011 |
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*see note 1 below |
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| October 6, 2012 |
October 5, 2013 |
September 13, 2014 |
| *see note 2 below |
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| November 21, 2015 |
November 12, 2016 |
November 18, 2017 |
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| November 17, 2018 |
1964 - |
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The shamrock helmet logo was introduced in 1959 by Notre Dame's head coach Joe Kuharich; it was used through the 1962 season and replaced with white uniform numbers the following year. New head coach Ara Parseghian brought back plain gold helmets in 1964 and the team used those during every game for 47 seasons, until the shamrock was brought back for use during the 2011 game at Michigan.
*1 Worn during the 2011 game vs Maryland played at Landover, MD. The helmet image here may imply that the design involved "camouflage" but this is not the case - the shell was covered with circular, gold "reflectors" (for lack of a better word) that tended to more or less color the helmet in two shades of gold (dark and light).
*2 Worn during the 2012 game vs Miami (FL) played at Chicago, IL. Only the left side was blue; the right side was gold with a texture similar to that of the November 12, 2011 helmet (as represented below). The gold pattern spilled over onto the left hemisphere of the helmet by perhaps 1.5" or thereabouts.
