What to know about Wisconsin men's basketball team's new black jerseys

MADISON – The reaction was almost instantaneous.

In early November the Wisconsin men’s basketball team revealed its alternate uniform for the upcoming season. It wasn't long before the crowd went wild.

“The first 10 text messages I got were from recruits,” Badgers coach Greg Gard said. “They were all over it.”

UW men’s hoops was scheduled to enter "Dark Mode" on Dec. 23, but the team's game with Grambling State was canceled because of a winter storm. Instead, the uniforms had to wait until Tuesday night, Jan. 17, when the Badgers square off at the Kohl Center with Penn State.

The black jersey is a first for the program, and in the very important world of recruiting, the look is a hit.

UW traded in its cardinal and white for black, cardinal and gold. The numbers are UW red with gold borders. "Wisconsin" is spelled across the chest in black letters that are bordered with red and then gold that connect to the uniform's pinstripes. On the back, the university’s crest is displayed above the player’s last name.

Call it style with substance. The uniforms put a fresh spin on the Badgers’ look while weaving in a message of diversity and inclusion.

“They’re sweet. Nice touch. The black is nice,” junior Jordan Davis said. “The lines, too. I just think it will be good for the school to represent unity and equality.”

This marks the third season Wisconsin and Under Armour teamed up to make a "By The Players' version of the Badgers uniform. The first two editions provided a taste of the past with some new-school twists.

This year’s edition looks nothing like anything UW has worn before.

“Our main thing was to get the black,” senior forward Tyler Wahl said. “That is something that is part of our logo, a little black accent. I feel that is something we haven’t been able to put on our jersey as a main color.”

The color took on a larger role a couple of years ago when the letter W inside the crest was changed from white to black to show solidarity with Black and other underrepresented communities on campus.

Under Armour worked with the men's and women's basketball teams on alternate uniforms. The women debuted theirs at the home opener against North Florida on Nov. 13.

As one of the team's elder statemen, Wahl had a large voice in the men's project, sharing his ideas of what should be included on the uniform and then let the designers go to work.

The process took place after the 2020-21 season. That was the COVID season, less than one year after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer sparked protest against police brutality and racism around the world.

It was with that in mind that Wahl asked that the words equity, inclusion and Wisconsin Forward be included in the design. That detail was cleverly added as part of the pinstripe.

“It took kind of a long process to get it rolling,” Wahl said, “but I think it’s a cool thing where we can bring light to something that affect everyone in their everyday life and something that has gotten pushed to the side and bring it back to light and bring that talk back.”

The reaction was not only positive with recruits, but it created a buzz among athletes on campus, who, based on the social media response, seemed eager for the opportunity to put their spin on their team’s uniforms.

Players on the team got a sneak peak at the uniform long before the big reveal last month.

"Looking at the guys' reaction from it (and) how I personally felt about it, I knew it was going to be a huge success," Wahl said. "There are going to be people who don’t like it at the same time. It comes along with everything, but everyone on the team likes it. Everyone on the team enjoys how they turned out."

For the time being the fans' opinion of the look will be limited to the social media post shared by the team.

The Badgers have some waiting to do, too. The cancellation of the game Friday means UW will have a 15-day break between its win over Lehigh on Dec. 15 and its game at home against Western Michigan Dec. 30. The Broncos (4-6) are coached by former Michigan State and Marquette assistant coach Dwayne Stephens.

The Badgers plan to wear the jerseys in February in recognition of Black History Month.

“I love it. There is nothing about it that I don’t like about,” Gard said. “I’ve always tried to allow our players, when alternate uniforms became a possibility and a reality, to design them. We’ve had a variety of ones over the years, but to be able to go to a black uniform I think is appropriate. It’s quite frankly overdue.”

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