Arizona on Saturday will take on a different look when UCLA visits McKale Center. Nike will outfit the Wildcats in its 2015 version of the Hyper Elite alternate uniform campaign that involved Arizona in the past.
This year, it's about a more subtle look.
The "Disruption" series includes eight schools and all have a white-on-white base. Arizona's jerseys include the usual lettering across the chest with red outlines and a white center. The number on the front of the jersey has red outlines with a navy blue inside.
The graphics on the shorts look a little sleeker than the regular Wildcat jerseys. They also feature a new, self-describing "flex vent" on the knee and "wipe zones" on the hips for players to rid their hands of moisture. Even the waistband is vented.
Indeed, this is a marketing opportunity for Nike. The jerseys the players will wear also rolled out Friday with matching Hyper Elite socks and shoes, not to mention a long-sleeve shirt and vest combo for each team (we're not sure we'll need the last two items in Arizona, but they look sleek nonetheless).
The collection of Nike Hyper Elite uniforms.
The opinion here is that the fresh look wasn't as much of a reach as those "Zona" jerseys in gray released back in 2012. It's fun, but not too much.
Kentucky (vs. Auburn), Arizona and the Baylor women's team (vs. TCU) will wear the alternates Saturday, while Oregon will do the same Sunday against Utah. Duke (vs. Syracuse), Florida (vs. Tennessee) will wear their Hyper Elite uniforms next Saturday, Feb. 28. Syracuse (vs. Virginia) will do so on March 2, and the Connecticut women's squad will throw on the unique look during its conference tournament.
Here's a link to the Nike website for the details on the jerseys.
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