Syracuse, NY – Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said he rejected the idea of ​​the Orange wearing all-orange uniforms when playing Stanford, preferring instead the school’s traditional home uniform.

When Syracuse hosts the Cardinal on Friday night, the Orange will wear orange pants, blue jerseys and an orange helmet to open the season for the third consecutive year.

“They tried to get me to wear all orange to the game this week,” Brown said Wednesday on his weekly radio show. “I was like, ‘Nah, we’re not doing that.’ Let’s wear the colors that make Syracuse. When you look at those colors, you see it, and that’s Syracuse.”

It’s a look back at fashion in an era when many programs tried to imitate Oregon and showcase unique looks as often as possible.

Oregon’s wide selection of uniforms and their role in recruiting were regularly mentioned as the school’s football program evolved from an underprivileged team to a national force.

Of course, it is completely unclear whether the credit for the school’s athletic rise should be attributed to the Nike uniforms or to other investments made by Nike founder Phil Knight.

Brown said he plans to take an old-school approach at SU.

“There are certain things you wear on the road and certain things you wear at home,” Brown said. “We need to integrate that more. Once we get that done, we can have a little alternate uniform and things like that. We need to learn to win in those uniforms.”

Brown’s preference is a nod to Syracuse’s football history, which he has referenced frequently during his first nine months in office.

Brown said he not only respects tradition, but also views alternate uniforms as something his team must earn to be allowed to wear.

“I like them,” Brown said of the current threads. “We have to keep the tradition. We’ll get upgrades and all that other stuff when we get everything back the way it’s supposed to be.”

Syracuse’s uniforms have been a touchy subject at times, as the team has struggled for much of the past two decades.

The previous uniforms worn by the team from 2014 to 2018 were unpopular with a large portion of the fan base. Nike justified some of its gruesome fashion choices by saying they were inspired by the New York City skyline and the gothic architecture of Manhattan.

Since the introduction of the current, more conventional versions in 2019, there has been less talk about the team’s uniforms.