Indiana State’s road blues: By Matthew Lucas, contributor
It’s not the blue that Larry Bird wore, but it’s better.
Indiana State has always raised the jersey game in the Missouri Valley Conference, and these royal blue jerseys with white and black accents bring a lot to the table.
The jersey uses the classic Indiana State lettering, with the first “I” being the state outline. The letters are white with a black outline, and in between the two words is the players’ number in black, outlined in white.
On each side of the jersey is a solid white stripe that slowly breaks up and eventually turns to black as it progresses down the side. The rest of the jersey is a solid royal blue that sharpens the white and black accents.
The shorts are also primarily royal blue with a solid black stripe on the side that slowly breaks up and transitions to a solid white stripe at the bottom. On the lower left side of the shorts, a patch of the Sycamores’ logo finishes it off.
Now, with respect to the Crusaders, yellow and brown is not a good pairing, so these all yellow jerseys are hard to gaze upon.
The shortened ‘VALPO’ on the chest in white is nice, and the shield on the side of the shorts is a good touch, but it takes a lot to make all yellow look good, and in this case, this jersey leaves much to be desired.
You could make an argument that there are better jerseys in this conference than the Sycamores road blue, but the Valparaiso all-yellow option is not one of those arguments.
Valparaiso’s road yellows: By Nick Zoll, contributor
Out of all the threads worn by the Missouri Valley Conference basketball squads, Valparaiso’s dark yellow road uniforms should be considered the best.
Being a traditionally bright color, it’s well-known that yellow is difficult to deal with when considering the visual appeal of a sports uniform. You could go with the University of Oregon approach, where your eyes may hurt while looking at a brightly-colored jersey for 40 minutes.
On the other hand, you could try the Jacksonville Jaguars color rush uniform and its horrendous attempt at a dark yellow design. But the balance found by Valparaiso to incorporate the exact shade of yellow in their uniforms makes it one of the most appealing basketball uniforms in the MVC.
And, of course, Valparaiso’s jersey is one that stands out from the rest. They are the only team in the MVC to frequently don a uniform with yellow as the main color.
However, the primary jersey color is not the be-all and end-all of the aesthetic. The white letters spelling ‘VALPO’ outlined by a thin and dark brown border are a nice touch to the front of the uniform. The players’ names and numbers are listed on the back of the jersey in similar fashion, and the uniform’s shorts feature the dark yellow with a Valparaiso logo stitched on one of the sides.
Indiana State’s solid blue uniforms with white lettering are a very close second to Valparaiso’s road uniforms. However, the vibrant and unique color scheme of the former puts it at the number one spot in the MVC.
