"AQ7"

"AQ7"


ABILENE CHRISTIAN	CENTRAL ARKANSAS	EASTERN KENTUCKY
"Wildcats"	"Bears"	"Colonels"
Abilene, TX	Conway, AR	Richmond, KY


JACKSONVILLE STATE	LAMAR	SAM HOUSTON STATE
"Gamecocks"	"Cardinals"	"Bearkats"
Jacksonville, AL	Beaumont, TX	Huntsville, TX


STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
"Lumberjacks"
Nacogdoches, TX

Comments

"AQ7" is the "conference name" given to a one-year scheduling alliance (the "WAC-ASUN challenge") among seven teams which will participate in two conferences in 2022 (the Western Athletic Conference, which will be sponsoring football for the first time since 2012, and the Atlantic Sun Conference, which will have football for the first time). The conference champion of AQ7 will receive an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in 2021.

Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin will be in the Western Athletic Conference in 2022 (along with Southern Utah). Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State will compete in the inaugural Atlantic Sun Conference football season in 2022 (along with Kennesaw State and North Alabama ).

Historical Helmets

ABILENE CHRISTIAN


? - 1960	1961	1962 - 1964


1965 - 1966	1966 - 1967	1968


1969 - 1978	1979 - 1984	1985 - 1986


1987 - 1990	1991 - 1992	1993 - 1994


1995	1996 - 1999	2000


	'A'	'B'
2001 - 2012	2013 - 2017	2017


'C'	'D'
2018 -	2018 -
	*see note 1 below

During recent years Abilene Christian has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2019: C-D-D; C-C-D; D-C-C; D-C-C

2018: C-C-C; D-C-C; D-D-C; D-C

2017: A-A-A; B-B-A; B-A-B; B-B

As for the "missing" Abilene Christian helmets:

In 1960 the team used white helmets with dark uniform numerals on the sides, and with a dark/white/dark stripe sequence. In all probability the numerals and stripes were purple in color, but since the team did use red as a secondary color a few years later, perhaps red (and black, also) cannot be ruled out as possibilities.

From 1962 through 1964 the helmets were white with a dark/white/dark stripe sequence, and at least sometimes with small uniform numerals at the front of the helmet, the two digits on either side of the central stripe. The clearest photographs which I have received from this period strongly imply that the dark stripes consisted of two adjacent colors, the inner color being slightly lighter than the outer portion. I would speculate that the inner stripes were red with the outer stripes being the expected purple color;

From 1979 through 1984 ACU used white helmets with a "wildcat" logo on the sides; above the cat were the letters "ACU". There were several stripes on this design and the facemask color is unclear, but appears to be gray in the best available photograph;

The 1995 helmet was purple with a diagonal "ACU" logo; I have no clear color photographs of this helmet but I suspect that the logo may have been black with a white outline, and that the middle stripe on the helmet may have been black;

In 2000 the team used white helmets with an "ACU" / "wildcat" logo which is still used by the university. I have no color photographs from this season and it is unclear whether the logo was entirely purple and white, or if other colors may have been used to depict the cat.

Below are photographs of the missing helmets; additional information on these would be appreciated.

*1 Uniform numbers are worn on the left side only of this design; a logo is worn on the right side (as represented below).

CENTRAL ARKANSAS


c.1960s	c.early 1970s	1974


1975	1976	1978


1973; 1977; 1979	1980 - 1990	1991 - 1999


2000 - 2009	2010 - 2012	2013 - 2014


	'A'	'B'
2015 - 2016	2017 -	2017 -
		*see note 1 below


'C'
2019 -

During recent years UCA has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2019: A-A-B; B-B-A; A-B-B; A-C-A; A

2018: A-B-B; B-A-A; B-B-A; A-B

This team used several interesting helmet designs during the mid-1970s for which I have only partial information; below are photographs of some of these, and the apparent logo worn on the last two:

Clear color photographs of any of these would probably enable me to add them to the website. The 1974 design had a red "bear head" logo beneath the letters "SCA" which were purple in color. The 1975 helmet had a cartoon bear logo of unknown color(s); the same logo was used in 1976 but greatly enlarged. There were apparently some red (or perhaps orange or brown) colors within the logo during at least 1975.

*1 The "bear" logo is worn on the left side only of this design; uniform numerals are worn on the right side (as represented below).

EASTERN KENTUCKY


1955 - 1961	1962	1963


1964	1965 - 1967	1968


1969 - 1970	1971 - 1976	1977 - 1978


1979	1980 - 2005	September 6, 2008; September 13, 2008
		*see note 1 below


	'A'	'B'
2009 - 2015	2006 - 2008; 2016 -	2017 -


'C'	'D'	'E'
2017 -	2017; 2019 -	2018 -


'F'	'G'
2019 -	2019 -

During recent years EKU has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2019: C-A-A; C-A-F; A-G-D; A-A-G

2018: C-A-A; A-E-A; A-A-A; A-A

2017: A-A-B; C-D-C; A-A-A; C-C

EKU's team nickname was changed from "Maroons" to "Colonels" in 1963.

*1 This design was used at least during home games against Western Kentucky and Morehead State in 2008 (and perhaps during other games, also?).

JACKSONVILLE STATE


? - 1981	1982 - 1983	1984


1985 - 1996; October 26, 2002	1997 - 1999	2000 - 2001


2002 (first 7 games)	2002 (last 3 games)	November 9, 2013


	'B'	'C'
November 23, 2013	2014	2014
*see note 1 below


'D' (and 'D1')	'E'	'A'
2014 -	November 14, 2015	2003 - 2014
*see note 2 below


'F'
2017 -

During recent years JSU has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2017: D1-D1-D1; D1-D1-D1; D1-F-D1; D1-D1-D1

2016: D1 (entire season)

2015: D-D-D; D-D-D; D-D-D; E-D-D; D-D-D

2014: A-A-A: A-A-A; A-B-B; C-D-D

JSU used three different helmet designs in 2002. The team began the season wearing white uniform numerals on their helmets; these were used for the team's first seven games. On October 26, the old oval-shaped logo was brought back for a single home game against Stephen F. Austin; this was done in recognition of the 10th anniversary of JSU's 1992 Division II National Championship season. The team used plain red helmets for its last three games in 2002 and then adopted a new design in 2003.

*1 Numerals were used only on the left side of each helmet; the right side featured an enormous "gamecock" logo (as shown below) which partially spilled over to the left hemisphere.

*2 Helmet design 'D' has the "JSU" logo on its left side only; the right side has white uniform numerals (as represented below). Design 'D1' has the "JSU" logo on both the left and right sides.

LAMAR


1962	1963	1966 - 1967


1968 - 1969	1958 - 1961; 1964 - 1965; 1970	1971


1972 - 1974	1975 - 1976	1977 - 1978


1979 - 1980	1981	1982


1983 - 1984	1985	1986 - 1989


		'A'
September 27, 2014; November 1, 2014	2010 - 2014	2015 -
*see note 1 below


'B'	'C'
2018 -	2018 -

In 2018 Lamar used three of the above helmet designs in the following sequence: A-B-B; B-B-C; C-C-C; C-C-C (the last game being an FCS playoff game at Northern Iowa).

Lamar did not have a football team from 1990 through 2009. The name of the school was Lamar State College of Technology prior to 1971; hence the "LT" logo on the 1966-1967 helmet design.

*1 Worn during home games against Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist in 2014.

SAM HOUSTON STATE


1976	1975; 1977	1979


1978; 1980	1981	1982 - 1985
	*see note 1 below	*see note 2 below


1986 - 1988	1989 - 1993	1994 - 1996


1997 (first 2 games)	1997 (last 9 games)	1998? - 2004


2005 (first game or two); 2010	2005 - 2009; 2011 - 2019	2020* -

I have not received any information about pre-1975 SHSU helmets. In 1979 the team used white helmets with a "bearkat head" logo (photo below); I would appreciate a clear color photograph of this helmet. It was reported to me that not enough of these decals were ordered, and that towards the end of the season about half the team were using "blank" helmets.

I received some contradictory reports about the decals used by SHSU in 2010; apparently both the orange and white versions of the most recent helmet decal were used in 2010, occasionally at the same time by different players. Can anyone clarify how these were used in 2010? Did one version eventually supersede the other? The white version was apparently used by the entire team during the 2011 season.

*1 The logo shown on this design was actually worn only on the right sides of the helmets; the left sides were "blank".

*2 The 1982-1985 design has been described as being identical to the one shown as "1986-1988" with the exception that there was a blue stripe between the orange and white stripes on each side (in other words the stripe sequence was white-blue-orange-blue-white). I would appreciate a photograph from the 1982-1985 period which clearly shows the width of the blue stripe relative to the others.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN


1958 - 1962	1963 - 1970	1971


1972 - 1975	1976	1977 - 1981


1982 - 1985	1986 - 1988	1989 - 1991


		'A'
2002	1992 - 2001; 2003 - 2010	2011 -
		*see note 1 below


'B' (and 'B1')	'C'	'D'
2015; 2020 -	2016 -	2019 -
*see note 2 below	*see note 3 below


'E'
2019 -
*see note 4 below

During recent years Stephen F. Austin has used the following sequences of helmet designs:

2019: C-A-A; C-A-D; C-E-E; D-D-D

2018: C-A-A; A-C-A; A-A-A; C

2017: A-C-A; A-A-C; C-A-A; A-A

2016: C-A-A; A-A-C; A-A-A; C-C

2015: B-B-A; B-A-A; B-A-A; B-A

*1 Prior to 2015 this design had the SFA/Texas state outline logo on both sides; beginning in 2015 the logo was worn on the left side only; white uniform numerals were worn on the right side (as depicted below).

*2 Helmet design 'B' has uniform numbers on both sides; 'B1' has them on the left side only with a logo adorning the right side (as represented below).

*3 The logo is present on the left side only of this design; purple uniform numbers like those worn on both sides of design 'B' adorn the right side.

*4 The 'JACKS' logo is present on the left side only of this design; white uniform numbers are worn on the right side (so the appearance is like that of the right side of design 'A').