Central Connecticut State, Colgate, Holy Cross, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Stonehill (2024)

The review of 2024 uniforms continues with six FCS teams — two from the Patriot League, two from the Northeast Conference and two independents. Before we start, a minor rant about the two independents ...

Before the season, Merrimack and Sacred Heart left the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Since the MAAC doesn't sponsor football, the schools played as independents on the gridiron. Someone at one of these two schools had the bright idea of having these lonely hearts face off late in the season for the "Yankee Conference championship," complete with a replica of the old Bean Pot trophy last seen residing in the Willam & Mary trophy case.

Of course, this is completely ridiculous, as these schools have zero connection to the beloved and long-gone Yankee Conference of Maine, UNH, UMass and other New England cow colleges. (As a Maine grad, I can call them that.) This reminds me of a story I once read — perhaps apocryphal — about an obscure 1970s band that announced that since no one else was using the name, they were going to call themselves "The Beatles." (It went nowhere.) What's next, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio playing for the "Southwest Conference" championship? 

That said, if hell freezes over and the America East finally decides to sponsor football, I would be more than happy to have Merrimack and Sacred Heart as members.

OK, on to the unis:

Central Connecticut State, the NEC champion, didn't change a thing from '23, with the exception of the NCAA patch worn in the FCS tournament, where it almost upset Rhode Island. (Anyone remember when Rhody almost joined the NEC in a money-saving effort?)

Colgate also changed nada from the previous season, which is a good thing, says I.

Holy Cross made a couple minor changes. The Crusaders made slight alterations to their road jerseys, with wider numbers and a narrower wordmark, and the purple helmets used the "shield" logo in place of the big "HC" that had been used for more than a decade. (I prefer the "HC", but that's just me.) Holy Cross also dusted off the black alternate jerseys, last worn in 2022. The shirts were first worn in 2019 and thus had the college football 150th anniversary patch almost everyone else wore that year. Five years later, the patch remains!

Merrimack replaced the "MC" helmet logo with the school seal, a quite Ivy-ish move, if I say so myself. The Warriors covered up the NEC logo with an American flag patch.

Sacred Heart made a couple very minor changes. The star-spangled helmet, which is usually worn around the anniversary of 9/11, replaced the "SHU" logo with a script "Pios," short for Pioneers. (Funny, I always thought of them as the "'Neers." 😎) Like their "Yankee Conference" rivals, the Pioneers covered the NEC logo with the American flag.

For the second straight year, Stonehill wins the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) award for the fewest uniform designs: The Skyhawks used the same three unis they wore last year.

Central Connecticut State, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Stonehill (2023)

The 2023 parade o' uniforms (slowly) continues with New England four Northeast Conference teams.

Central Connecticut State changed its helmet logo, ditching the blue devil next to the "CC" for a pitchfork. The logo also appears on both sides of the helmet, ditching the logo-on-one-side-uniform-number-on-the-other-side look that I can't stand. The jersey and pants remain unchanged from the last few years; I like the Blue Devils' commitment to consistency.

Merrimack made no real changes from last year, unless you count the return of yellow pants after a year's absence. Honestly, there's not much to complain about the Warriors' uniforms.

Sacred Heart's only real change was an update to the all-gray alternate, which now more closely matches the red and white uniforms. The "PIONEERS" down the side of the gray pants goes in the opposite direction of the red and white versions, which I'm sure will ruin a lot people's breakfast. 😎

Stonehill changed its jerseys and pants, adding a more contemporary number font while switching to more traditional sleeves. The helmets remained unchanged.

Bryant, Central Connecticut, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Stonehill

Let's continue our look back at the uniforms of 2022 with four Northeast Conference teams, plus one that departed the NEC.

Bryant is the oddball of the bunch, having ditched the NEC for the Big South (well, Bryant is in southern New England, at least); the remainder of its athletic teams left the NEC for the America East Conference. The move is reflected with the addition of the Big South patch on the jerseys. The Bulldogs replaced Adidas with New Balance as their uniform supplier, but as they still used some of the older Adidas gear, they had to cover up the logo. (Look closely at the graphic above, especially the pants; you'll see a faint square where the Adidas logo used to live.) Bryant added a nice-looking gold alternate jersey, but resisted the urge to wear them with the gold pants.

OK, onto the NEC ...

Central Connecticut kept everything very simple this year; I think the three uniform combos are the fewest of any team covered in this little ol' project. The Blue Devils even passed on the breast cancer awareness helmets from last year. When that's the biggest change, you know there's not much going on here. Ah, for a simpler time ...

Merrimack kept things on an even keel as well. The Warriors' white pants and jerseys continued the recent trend of traditional stripes, a welcome return if there ever was one. Sadly, they didn't continue the screaming yellow zonkers look from last year.

Sacred Heart's biggest change was the addition of new pants, which have "PIONEERS" running down the sides. Frankly, they kinda resemble pro wrestling pants to me. Old favorites such as the star-spangled helmet and the all-gray alternate uniform returned for another year.

Finally, we have the new kid on the Division I block, Stonehill. The Skyhawks played only nine games this year (I wonder if that had something to do with their move up from D-II?) and won four, pretty respectable for a first-year D-I program. Stonehill kept its uniform pretty simple, rotating between two jerseys and two sets of pants. The helmets have a logo on one side and a number on the other; I'm not a fan of that look, but let's face it — there are more important things to worry about, right?

Bryant, Central Connecticut St., Merrimack, Sacred Heart (2021)

Time for the latest round of the uniforms of 2021, this time with a trip through the New England schools in the Northeast Conference. You can see the Ivy League here, the CAA teams here and the FBS indies here. The review will continue with Colgate and Holy Cross and wrap up with Boston College after its bowl game. 

Bryant made its most significant change since the program's founding in 1999, dumping the plain gold helmet it had worn since day one for a black version, with a number on one side and the bulldog logo on the other. The home and road jerseys also underwent a change and have a consistent look for the first time in a few years. The bulldog logo on the helmets and sleeves marks the first it has been featured on the uniform someplace other than the pants, a definite upgrade. (For a few years Bryant had a goofy-looking "B" in a shield on the sleeves.)

Central Connecticut State, which also has a logo on one side of the helmet and a number on the other, replaced the "CC" logo from seasons part with the blue devil head. CCSU, which sat out last season because of COVID-19, continued to wear all-blue at home and all-white on the road. The Blue Devils also wore a pink stripe down the middle of helmet for several games in October for breast cancer awareness. If you look closely, you can see the word "FIGHT" imprinted all over the stripe. 

Merrimack added some flair when it unveiled an all-yellow uniform at Homecoming, giving the Warriors three jerseys and two sets of pants. (Some teams, like Bryant, UNH and Maine, have two jerseys and three pants, which I don't understand. Third jerseys > third pants; you can make more fun combos.) The shirts retained the same basic pattern as the home and road versions, although the road whites continue to lack shoulder numbers. 

Finally, Sacred Heart, which won its second straight NEC title, trotted out eight different combos, including the star-spangled and gray alternate uniforms, which returned after a year's absence. The Pioneers also wore a helmet with a 9-11 tribute logo on the right side for their  first two games.

Bryant (2018-19), Central Connecticut (2018-19), Merrimack (2019), Sacred Heart (2018-19)

Talk about a mental lapse the size of an offensive line. I knew Merrimack College (North Andover, Mass.) was moving up to Division I from D-II for the 2019-20 school year; it wasn't until the last week or so when I realized, "Oh, yeah, I've got a new team to add to the site!" So welcome aboard, Merrimack; that boosts the number of current D-I programs featured here to 20. Let's take a look at this year's uniforms from Merrimack and fellow Northeast Conference teams Bryant, Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart. Since I basically blew off the NEC teams last year (apologies!), we'll include the 2018 uniforms from Bryant, CCSU and SHU, too.

Bryant (6-5, 2-4 in 2018; 4-8, 3-4 in '19) kept its basic black-and-gold look in 2018 before it phased out the gold pants in '19 (worn just once) in favor of black and white versions. The Bulldogs modified their home and road jerseys, but there are subtle differences; the homes have the Bryant wordmark in the school font and the numbers in a traditional font; the roads have Bryant in a traditional block serif font (like last year), but curved numbers. 

Central Connecticut (6-5, 4-2 in '18; 11-2, 7-0 and an NCAA FCS Tournament berth in '19) kept the basic look it's had the last few years, but the Blue Devils modified their road unis in '19 to better match the homes. The '18 jerseys come with and without the NEC patch on the front.

Merrimack (6-5, not eligible for NEC title but 1-3 against NEC foes) had a winning record, although three wins were over non D-I teams and a fourth was over fellow D-I newbie LIU (formerly D-II C.W. Post). The Warriors' uniforms are pretty simple, but the program's first uniforms from the late '90s (coming soon to a post near you!) make the current duds resemble Oregon's. Yale was the only other team on this site to not wear any alternate helmets or jerseys, or mix and match their unis. One oddity: The home jerseys have shoulder numbers, while the roads do not.

Sacred Heart (7-4, 5-1 and co-NEC champs in '18; 7-5, 4-3 in '19), on the other hand, did plenty of mixing and matching, particularly with the helmets in '19. The Pioneers wore their regular helmets; the star-spangled helmets they usually wear the first couple games of the season; and a helmet with a throwback pioneer logo used in the 1990s (look closely; it bears a passing resemblance to a certain beloved NFL logo). The jerseys and pants, including the hideous all-gray ensemble, remained unchanged. The 9/11 star-spangled jersey, first worn in 2017, wasn't worn in '18 but returned in '19.

Rhode Island (2017), Sacred Heart (2017), UConn (2017)

The Parade O' 2017 Uniforms continues!

Rhode Island (3-8 overall, 2-6 CAA) revived its light gray camo pants after a one-year absence. My suggestion: The overall template is great (well, except for the camo pants), but ditch anything where navy blue is the primary color, which resembles CAA rival Maine too much. Change the helmet to white and/or light blue, make navy a trim color on the numbering and lettering and you have a winner.

Ram on with more Rhody unis: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2003-07, 1997-99, 1983-92, 1976-82, 1967-71, 1966, 1963-65, 1962, 1957-61, 1951, 1947-50, 1936-39. Rivalry Week: UConn-Rhody.

Sacred Heart (4-7 overall, 2-4 NEC) modified its uniform across the board. The jerseys now bear a passing resemblance to Louisville, and the shirts and pants were given some odd striping. Also, the "SHU" on the helmet was given a nice sheen. The all-gray uniform, with last year's template, was used again. 

The Pioneers wore a special star-spangled 9/11 uniform, complete with blue numbers dotted with white stars. The "SHU" on the helmet was given the American flag treatment for the second straight year, and the look also was worn for one road game.

More Sacred Heart uniforms: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2008-12.

UConn (3-9 overall, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) retained its 2016 uniform under Randy Edsall in the first year of his second stint as Huskies coach. The all-gray uniform was ditched (yay!) as was the red facemarks UConn wore on occasion last year. Two years after wearing nine combos, only three were used in '17.

Going by his recent tweets, Edsall has all but said the 2003-12 "C" logo is returning next season. After seeing the clunky designs of the post-Edsall era (see links below), I approve.

UConn coach Randy Edsall recently tweeted this helmet,
featuring the classic 2003-12 "C." Here's hoping it sees game action in 2018.

More UConn unis for the Huskymanicas: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2003 (Inside the Jersey), 2002, 1989-93, 1984-88, 1971-72, 1970, 1966-67, 1965, 1958-60, 1957, 1951, 1950, 1948-49, 1934. Rivalry Week: UConn-Rhode Island. 

Sacred Heart Pioneers (2016), New Hampshire Wildcats (2016)

Two more in our review of 2016 in uniforms. That leaves just Yale and Boston College, which will come in the next week or so.

Sacred Heart (6-5 overall, 1-5 NEC) kept the exact uniforms from 2015 (yay!), except for the addition of a stars-and-stripes helmet for Veterans Day weekend.

More Sacred Heart uniforms: 2013, 2008-12.

New Hampshire (8-5 overall, 6-2 CAA, THIRTEENTH STRAIGHT NCAA FCS tournament) also kept the same look from 2015, which also gets another yay from me.

More UNH uniforms: 2015, 2014, 2010-13, 2000, 1998, 1993, 1975, 1968-71 (part 1),  1969-71 (part 2), 1966-67,  1965, 1955, 1950, 1947-48, 1938, 1936. Rivalry Week: Maine-UNH.

Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Sacred Heart (2015)

We continue the 2015 round-up with the NEC 3. This leaves us with only UConn, which I'm saving for after next week's bowl game.

Bryant

The Bulldogs, who went 5-6 overall, 3-3 in the NEC, kept the exact same look from last year. 

Central Connecticut State

The "other" Blue Devils kept the same home jersey and pants, but introduced completely new -- and vastly improved, sez I -- road versions. Hopefully, there'll be an accompanying home version in 2016. One oddity: When CCSU opted to wear white pants at home against Dartmouth, it chose to wear last year's pants instead of the new white pants. Give CCSU credit for continuity. The Devils were 4-7 overall, 3-3 in NEC action.

Sacred Heart

The normally staid Pioneers decided to mix things up a bit this fall. They added red alternate pants and an all bluish-gray alternate uniform that kept the same basic design as the home and road shirts. It's not as good as UMass' gray uni, but it's far better than Penn's. Last season's NEC champs were 6-5 overall, 3-3 league.

One Year Later: Greatest Hits

With Monday marking the one-year anniversary of this blog, I thought I'd do a quick rundown of my 10 favorite uniforms I've posted ... so far. These are in no particular order.

Vermont Catamounts, 1974. Without a doubt, the most colorful, unique and outrageous pre-21st century style on this blog. Monochrome, curved numbers, stripes of all shapes and sizes ... this is the most glorious mess ever created. Also the end of an era at UVM.

Boston University Terriers, 1968-70. I've always dug the interlocking, not-quite-Baylor "BU" on the helmets and the small "BOSTON UNIVERSITY" lettering across the jersey front.

Maine Black Bears, 1974. For me, this was the height of the winged-helmet era at Maine, with the right dose of light blue trim on the uniform and cool-looking numbers on the side of the helmets. ... when the Black Bears decided to wear numbers on the helmets.

Dartmouth Indians/Big Green/Whatever, 1936-38. I wouldn't want to see Dartmouth add gold to the color scheme now, but the Red Blaik-era leatherhead uniform is pretty awesome. The striped helmets with gold panels rule, too.

Cornell Big Red, 1980-82.  This might be the second-most colorful, unique and outrageous pre-21st century style on this blog. 

Boston College Eagles, 1984. I'll admit this entry is likely out of nostalgia. The uniform itself might not seem special, but the guys who wore it in '84 certainly were. And the Cotton Bowl patch is pretty neat.

Sacred Heart Pioneers, 2013-14. Because clean and simple uniforms can still work in college football.

Rhode Island Rams, 1983-90. This is another one that might be clouded by nostalgia, but I love it anyway.

UMass Minutemen, 1978. The road jersey is a one-year style, with juuuust enough gold trim to offset the maroon and white. The "UM" minuteman logo is one of my favorite sports logos of all time.

1978-83 UNH Wildcats. OK, I posted this only in the Rivalry Week entry, but this was an early version of a classic design that went unchanged for nearly 25 years. I'll make a more detailed post about this uniform soon.