New Looks for the Scarlet Knights: Adidas and Scarletknights.com

There have been two huge recent developments in terms of the image Rutgers Athletics. One was the first looks at some of the new uniforms from Adidas, and the other was the redesign of scarletknights.com

Adidas

The re-branding of the Scarlet Knights under the Adidas banner has begun, and so far I've been impressed. In terms of the football uniforms, there is not too much of a change, the main differences being the removal of the chain-mail look from the shoulders and sleeves as well as the addition of the New Jersey logo in the top-center of the back of the uniform between the neck and the start of the player's name. Everyone seems to feel good about having the state logo on the back. It seems the presence or lack thereof of the state logo or name has been an ongoing debate for decades. Who else remembers the NJRutgers helmets from the Presley and Willis thunder & lightning days? To me, the designers found a noticeable yet still subtle way of honoring Jersey. Expect to see some changes next year as well another alternate uniform as Adidas and Rutgers get more comfortable with one another.

I've also taken a look at the hype clips and pics of the basketball and soccer uniforms. With Adidas' history, you just knew those soccer unis would look sharp. I think everyone's concern was the basketball threads and sneakers. And so far the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and by the reaction of the guys on the men's hoops team they seem pretty stoked as well.

The relationship between Rutgers and Adidas feels to me like its a good match at this time. Adidas found a school in a big market without a lucrative entrenched sponsorship deal that they could move in on. And as Rutgers Athletics continues to rebuild its image and grow in the Big Ten it has a nice fit in an apparel sponsor that wants to grow with it.

Scarletknights.com

The first things that catches the reader right away is the large block R in the top-center of the screen. The outlining makes it appear as though the letter is jumping out of the screen. Then, as you scroll down it recedes to a smaller type size. Nice work by the graphic designers for making that happen!

Other features I'm enjoying are the Knight helmet outline in the background, the improved revolving headline window, and the easy-to-use and find composite calendar in the border along the right margin. But I'm most excited about the better placement and functionality of the RVISION choices. It makes selecting the video content much easier. Another nice function is the way the rosters for each team are laid out with the ability to drill down to more info about the athletes and their stats. It's simply a much clearer way to look at the content. Good work!