Big East Conference
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| CINCINNATI | CONNECTICUT | LOUISVILLE |
| "Bearcats" | "Huskies" | "Cardinals" |
| Cincinnati, OH | Storrs, CT | Louisville, KY |
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| PITTSBURGH | RUTGERS | SOUTH FLORIDA |
| "Panthers" | "Scarlet Knights" | "Bulls" |
| Pittsburgh, PA | Piscataway, NJ | Tampa, FL |
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| SYRACUSE | WEST VIRGINIA |
| "Orange" | "Mountaineers" |
| Syracuse, NY | Morgantown, WV |
Comments
Syracuse will be using a new helmet design in 2008 (shown above).
Historical Helmets
CINCINNATI
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| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 - 1966 |
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| 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
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| 1970 - 1972 | 1973 - 1978 | 1979 - 1981 |
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| 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
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| 1985 - 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1990 | 1991 - 1992 | 1993 - 2004 |
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| 2005 - |
*1 "Blank" helmets were used during the first game of the 1990 season (vs Bowling Green) because the new helmet decals were late in arriving.
CONNECTICUT
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| 1958 - 1962 | 1963 | 1964 |
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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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| 1999 - 2001 | 2002 | 2003 - |
During 1969, like many other teams, UConn 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 a photograph of UConn's version of this helmet.
*1 The 1965 Connecticut helmet was one of the more unique designs in the history of the sport. Half of the shell was white and the other half navy blue, with the same logo on each side, but with the colors inverted. I believe that it was the left half of this helmet that was white and the right side blue, so the right side of the helmet would resemble the 1964 helmet shown here. This "hybrid" helmet was used for just one season.
LOUISVILLE
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| 1963 | 1960 - 1962; 1964 - 1965; 1969 (some games) |
1966 - 1967 |
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| 1968 - 1969 | 1970 - 1972 | 1974 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1978? - 1979 | 1980 | 1981 - 1982 |
| *see note 2 below |
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| 1983 | 1984 | 1985 - 1997 |
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| 1998 | 1999 - 2000 | 2001 - 2002 |
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| 2003 - |
Louisville's helmet history during the mid-1970s is a bit unclear to me, and there have been at least two other designs used besides those shown here. In 1973, the team used white helmet shells with a logo that was basically similar to that used on the "1978? - 1979" helmet illustrated above, except that there was a white "L" on the logo, possibly outlined in black, rather than the words "RED RAGE" which appeared on the later version. Also in 1973, the bird's beak was yellow rather than white. At left is a photograph of this helmet design, which also featured gray facemasks and an absence of stripes. This design may have been used for some games in 1974, also, but apparently no logo was used during most of Louisville's games that year.
The bird logo was brought back in 1975, this time with the words "RED RAGE" in small letters rather than the "L". A sequence of stripes (black-red-black) was added to the design, but I do not know what color the facemasks were in 1975 or 1976.
The stripe sequence was altered to red-white-black-white-red by at least 1977, but again I do not know what color the facemasks were that year. 1978 is the earliest year in which I am sure that red facemasks were used.
*1 In 1969, apparently plain red helmets were used for some games, while white players' uniform numerals were worn on the helmets during other games.
*2 The words "RED RAGE" are printed in small white letters on the logo used on this design.
PITTSBURGH
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| ? - 1965? | 1966? - 1967 | 1968 |
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| 1970 - 1972 | 1973 - c.1980 September 24, 2005 |
c.early 1980s - 1991? |
| *see note 1 below | *see note 2 below |
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| 1992? - 1996 | 1997 - 2004 | 2005 - |
Pittsburgh used helmet shells of a rather unique color for many years during the 1970s and 1980s; sort of a mustardy-yellow that seemed to have almost a greenish cast under certain lighting conditions. The actual color of these helmets probably varied somewhat during this period, although I have not attempted to depict any such changes here.
*1 The 1969 helmets were identical to this design, but a version of the "100" decal that many teams used that year was added to the helmets. Pittsburgh's version appears to have featured a dark blue football shape, outlined in white, with white numerals that may have been outlined in red; the one photograph that I have of this helmet is not really clear enough to reveal the details within the decal.
*2 Yellow facemasks were in use until at least 1991, but I do not yet know precisely when the switch to white ones was made.
RUTGERS
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| ? - 1965 | 1966 | 1973 |
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| 1974 | 1975 - 1978 | 1978 - 1979 |
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| 1979 (some games) | 1981 - 1984 | 1985 - 1986 |
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| 1987 - 1995 | 1996 | 1997 - 2000 |
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| 2001 - |
Rutgers is apparently one of the few teams to use only a single helmet shell color throughout the period covered by this site.
Two additional designs are shown in the photographs below:
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The first, used in 1967 and 1968, features a decal depicting a knight atop a charging white horse; I would appreciate a copy of the artwork used on this decal. The photographs that I have of this design are not clear enough to reveal what colors were used on the decal; at least both black and white were present, and perhaps red also. The 1970 and 1971 helmets were nearly identical to this design, but a white outline was then present around the edge of the decal.
The second photograph is of the 1972 Rutgers helmet, which featured an "RU" logo that probably incorporated the colors red, white, and black. I would need at least a color photograph clear enough to show the detail within the logo, and probably a copy of the "RU" logo itself, in order to add this one to the site.
In 1969, Rutgers used a version of the "100" logo that many other teams also used. In Rutgers' version, the football shape was yellow or gold in color, with white numerals that were outlined in some dark color. The football shape itself also had a white outline.
SOUTH FLORIDA
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| 1997 - 2002 | 2003 - 2004 | 2005 - |
| *see note 1 below |
South Florida's football program began at the Division I-AA level in 1997 and moved to Division I-A in 2001. These are the only helmet designs used by the team to date.
*1 The helmet decal worn in 2004 may have been somewhat smaller than the one used in 2003.
SYRACUSE
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| c.early 1960s | c.mid 1960s - 1973 | 1974 - 1976 |
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| 1977 - 1980 | 1981 - 1982 | 1983 - 2004 |
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| 2005 - 2006 | 2007 | 2008 - |
WEST VIRGINIA
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| 1960 | 1963 | 1961 - 1962; 1964 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1965 | 1966 - 1969 | 1970 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1971 - 1972 | 1973 - 1978 | 1979 |
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| 1980 - |
| *see note 2 below |
Photographs from West Virginia's 1963 game against Navy show the WVU players wearing the number "100" in some dark color on their helmets; I think this was almost certainly in observance of the state's centennial. The helmets otherwise appear to be similar to the first design shown above. I do not have any photographs from WVU's other games in 1963.
Apparently during the 1965 season only, an early version of the "state outline" logo was used (see photograph), with this logo replacing the players' numerals that had been used earlier during the 1960s. In this version, the state outline appears to have been a light blue color with a white outline; running diagonally across the state were the letters "WVU" in some dark color, apparently with gold outlines or shadows of some sort. I would appreciate a clear copy of this 1965 logo from a game program, yearbook, media guide, etc.
A couple of people have sent me some photographs which may show another helmet logo for WVU from the early 1970s; it appears basically similar to the one shown above on the various 1970s helmets, but with a blue football-shape with light-colored letters "WVU" across it. The state outline is also blue. I have some strong doubts about the authenticity of these photographs, for the following reasons: all of them appear to have originated from a rather strange web site credited to one "Shuless Hillbilli", and none of the several other photographs that I have from other sources show this "blue football" version of the logo. I think these photos have probably been doctored, but I am by no means certain about this. If anyone has a clear photograph showing a "blue football" version of the 1970s logo from some other source, I would appreciate a copy of it.
*1 In a few photographs from these years, small, dark-colored "star" decals are visible on the sides of some helmets. In the only two clear photographs that I have showing these, three stars are visible on one helmet, and two on another. The significance of these is unknown.
*2 The helmet color for this design was slightly lighter during the first few years than the presently-used color, according to some reports that I have received. I have also received conflicting accounts of a possible light-colored stripe used on this design during the early 1980s. In some black-and-white photographs that I have, the helmet appears to have a light-colored stripe; several such photographs appear on pages 146 and 147 of the 1983 edition of Street & Smith's College Football Yearbook. The "stripe" in these photographs appears so pronounced that for a long time, I was under the impression that the the helmet featured a stripe of the same color as the "WV" logo on the sides of the helmet. A couple of other people have told me emphatically that there was no such stripe, but I did receive a message from another person stating: "Several people I spoke with remembered a light blue stripe across the top the "current" helmet in the early 1980s". My suspicion now is that there probably was a lighter blue "stripe" running over the top of the WVU helmet design for a year or two, but that it was "unintentional" and had something to do with the physical structure of the helmet, rather than being composed of decal material. A large, clear color photograph would probably be necessary to clarify the situation. The only color photos I have seen from these years are from the "Shuless Hillbilli" web site mentioned above, and are of unknown reliability.
