Vanderbilt football alternate uniforms: From Anchor down to Deep Water and battle in a position

Vanderbilt soccer is trying anything new. 

The Commodores (2-7, 0-5 SEC) are working a Black Out promotion for their game Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN2) towards Kentucky (6-3, four-3), encouraging lovers to wear black while additionally debuting new all-black uniforms and helmets. educate Clark Lea referred to that he hopes this is never only a one-off, both, and he hopes to cling a black out at least once per year.

Alternate uniforms are a standard fan engagement approach for many college classes. whereas some colleges with iconic appears consistently stick to those, the use of alternates is standard at Vanderbilt and a lot of other courses — and no longer just in football.

Some alternate appears, like the baseball team's black pinstripes, have risen to probably the most most iconic in their sports. Others elevate deep meanings for the teams that put on them. however when it comes to alternates, there may be at all times a possibility of disaster.

This isn't the primary time the Commodores have attempted a Black Out. despite what happens on Saturday, Lea has this going for him: it can be difficult to have a more disastrous blackout than former teach Derek Mason's first attempt.

The Anchor Down debacle

Vanderbilt tried a Black Out  in 2014 towards Temple, the primary game of Mason's tenure. whereas the all-black uniforms the Commodores wore in that video game had been now not precisely alternates, fairly an update to the all-black jerseys used in 2013, Vanderbilt did announce a brand new matte helmet. One feature of these black jerseys became that as an alternative of a nameplate on the returned, they said Anchor Down.

seems, that wasn't allowed. The NCAA does not permit slogans to be printed on jerseys except for service academies, however a miscommunication between Vanderbilt and the NCAA led the faculty to consider the slogans had been authorised. The referees tried to penalize the Commodores, however an evidence of the miscommunication reversed the penalty. nevertheless, the SEC dominated that Vanderbilt couldn't put on the Anchor Down nameplates again. (might be it failed to want to, seeing because it firstly wore the jerseys in a disastrous 37-7 loss to Temple.)

The Commodores still saved the black jerseys of their rotation that yr, although, these jerseys did not have nameplates in any respect, just the superstar V. Vanderbilt wore them in wins over Charleston Southern and old Dominion and a loss to Tennessee.

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Deep Water

Vanderbilt revealed its Deep Water alternates in advance of the 2015 season. The naval-themed getups were gray with gold numbers and had been paired with a black camouflage helmet. discovering from the Anchor Down debacle the outdated yr, the Commodores instead put the slogan on the pants with this set.

The Deep Water jerseys had been first worn  during a Sept. 12, 2015 loss to Georgia after which once again that season in a 25-0 shutout by using Texas A&M. In 2016, the Commodores once again wore them in a win over middle Tennessee State.

In 2017, the uniforms obtained a tweak with new armed forces appreciation patches for the Salut to service. Vanderbilt also wore these uniforms against Kentucky however once more took a loss, 41-22.

After that video game, the Deep Water uniforms were retired and donated to provider members' families. however the entire set turned into worn just four times throughout three seasons, the Commodores also used the Deep Water helmet one at a time in a number of units, including the 2016 win over Tennessee.

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fight equipped

The fight able alternates had been somewhat of a successor to Deep Water introduced in 2019. These uniforms additionally had a armed forces theme however were designed with a much greater very own connection to the Commodores: the helmets had eighty two rivets to honor former player Turner Cockrell, who died of melanoma the previous 12 months. The uniforms have been grey with black sleeves and an anchor on the sleeve, notwithstanding the Anchor Down slogan become removed.

Vanderbilt first wore the combat ready uniforms in opposition t LSU, the quickly-to-be-national champions, on Sept. 21, a online game the Commodores misplaced, sixty six-38. They again wore the uniforms in opposition t Kentucky that November, a 38-14 loss. but more than the record, these uniforms had a private meaning. They have been nominated for defense force Appreciation Uniform of the 12 months and Helmet of the yr by way of Uni Swag.

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vintage helmet

Vanderbilt didn't wear the fight able uniforms in 2020, nor did it introduce any new alternates. It did, although, wear a brand new vintage helmet with the script Vandy inspired by the 1979-83 helmets.

The Commodores wore the old helmets three times in 2020, in opposition t LSU, Ole leave out and Tennessee. Of route, no alternate helmet may store Vanderbilt from an 0-9 season — notwithstanding might be the new helmets have been an illustration of what changed into to come, seeing as the Commodores have been 1-10 in the first season donning the script helmets in 1979.

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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.