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
South Florida used four different helmet designs - all of them new - in 2011. Rutgers also used multiple designs during the course of the 2011 season.
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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| January 1, 2010 | 2005 - |
| *see note 2 below | *see note 3 below |
I believe this to be the complete set of historical helmet designs used by Cincinnati during the period covered by this web site (1960 to present).
*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.
*2 Used during the Sugar Bowl game against Florida at the end of the 2009 season.
*3 During Cincinnati's December 31, 2011 appearance in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis, TN (vs Vanderbilt) this helmet design was altered by the addition of white uniform numerals to the right side of the helmet (as shown below). The traditional "C"/bearcat claw logo remained on the left sides of the helmets during this game.
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 strange design 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 | 1973 - 1974? |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1974 | 1975 - 1976 | 1977 |
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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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| October 2, 2009; additional games 2009 |
2003 - 2009 | September 11, 2010; November 12, 2011 |
| *see note 3 below | *see note 4 below |
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| 2010 - |
I would appreciate clear color photographs of Louisville's helmets for the years 1975 through 1977. In 1975 the team used the same logo as is shown on the "1978?-1979" helmet above, with a black-red-black stripe sequence, but the facemask color remains unknown for both 1975 and 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. If red facemasks were used in 1977, then there would be apparently just one design for the three-year period 1977-1979.
*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.
*3 This design was first worn during the home game against Pittsburgh in 2009. It was worn later that season during a home game against Syracuse (November 14) and during games at South Florida (November 21) and at home against Rutgers (November 27).
*4 Worn during the 2010 home game against Eastern Kentucky and during the 2011 home game vs Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH
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| ? - 1965? | 1966? - 1967 | 1968 |
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| 1969 | 1970 - 1972 | 1973 - c.1980; September 24, 2005 |
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| c.early 1980s - 1991? | 1992? - 1996 | 1997 - 2004 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| November 26, 2010 | 2005 - |
In 1969 this was one of the many teams to wear a "100" logo in recognition of the college football centennial. 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, but the helmets were otherwise similar to the "1970-1972" design shown above.
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, but I have not attempted to depict any such changes here.
*1 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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| ? - 1961? | 1962? - 1965 | 1966 |
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| 1967 - 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
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| 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
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| 1974 | 1975 - 1978 | 1978 - 1980? |
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| 1979 (some games) | 1981 - 1984 | 1985 - 1986 |
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| 1987 - 1995 | 1996 | 1997 - 2000 |
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| October 8, 2011; October 29, 2011 |
October 21, 2011 | November 12, 2011 |
| *see note 1 below | *see note 2 below | *see note 3 below |
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| 2001 - |
Two additional historical designs for Rutgers 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, but perhaps red also. The 1970 and 1971 helmets were nearly identical to this design, except that a white outline was then present around the edge of the logo.
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.
A couple of photographs from the very early 1960s show Rutgers using plain red helmets with a single darker stripe (probably black or blue in color).
*1 First worn during the 2011 home game against Pittsburgh; subsequently worn October 29, 2011 (vs West Virginia).
*2 Worn during the 2011 game at Louisville.
*3 Worn during the 2011 game vs Army at New York, NY.
SOUTH FLORIDA
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| 1997 - 2002 | 2003 - 2004 | 2005 - 2009 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 'B' | ||
| October 9, 2010 | December 20, 2008; subsequent games 2009-2010 |
2011 - |
| *see note 2 below | *see note 3 below | *see note 4 below |
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| 'C' | 'D' | 'A' |
| 2011 - | November 19, 2011 | 2011 - |
| *see note 5 below | *see note 6 below | *see note 7 below |
USF used the following sequence of helmet designs in 2011: B-A-A; C-A-B; C-C-A; D-C-B.
The USF football program began at the NCAA Division I-AA level in 1997 and moved to Division I-A in 2001. All of the team's historical helmet designs are represented above.
*1 The helmet decal worn in 2004 may have been somewhat smaller than the one used in 2003.
*2 Used during the 2010 home game against Syracuse. Prior to the 2010 season a similar design (but with two differences) had been announced, but was apparently never actually used. The announced design had a black facemask rather than a green one, and a green outermost outline around the "U" logo rather than a black one.
*3 This design was used by USF on the following occasions: during the St. Petersburg Bowl game against Memphis at the end of the 2008 season; during a home game against Cincinnati on October 15, 2009; versus Northern Illinois during the International Bowl game in Toronto on January 2, 2010; and during all games of the 2010 season except October 9 vs Syracuse, when gold helmets were used.
*4 First worn September 3, 2011 at Notre Dame; subsequently worn October 15, 2011 (at Connecticut).
*5 First worn September 24, 2011 vs UTEP, subsequently worn October 22, 2011 (vs Cincinnati) and November 5, 2011 (at Rutgers).
*6 Worn during the 2011 home game vs Miami (FL).
*7 First worn September 10, 2011 vs Ball State; subsequently worn September 17, 2011 (vs Florida A&M), September 29, 2011 (at Pittsburgh), and November 11, 2011 (at Syracuse).
SYRACUSE
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| c.early 1960s | 1969 | c.mid 1960s - 1968; 1970 - 1973 |
| *see note 1 below |
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| 1974 - 1976 | 1977 - 1980 | 1981 - 1982 |
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| 1983 - 2004 | 2005 - 2006 | 2007 |
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*1 Here is a link to an interesting story about the return of a missing 1969 Syracuse helmet to its rightful owner after a forty-year absence.
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 2 below |
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| 1971 - 1972 | 1973 - 1978 | 1979 |
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| November 26, 2010; December 28, 2010 |
1980 - |
| *see note 3 below | *see note 4 below |
The above are thought to be a complete set of historical helmets for WVU for the period covered by this web site (1960 to present).
*1 The numerals "100" were worn on each player's helmet in 1963 in recognition of the state of West Virginia's centennial.
*2 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, but they were probably "award decals".
*3 This design was Worn twice during the 2010 season: at Pittsburgh, and vs North Carolina State in the Champs Sports Bowl game played at Orlando, FL.
*4 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.
