In the Wash
Arkansas
Seemingly minor changes to the 2014 base "tusk" unis by extending the tusk on the pants up to the waistline and removing the unnecessary smaller tusks on the chest. But things will be changing for the Hogs with the arrival of Chad Morris who is a big fan of using unis to recruit". So get prepared for the non-traditional. But don't freak out too much, because he does still like the traditional look. The white helmet is definately in play since there is a prediction of "snow" on the hill for the first game. As for the red helmet, "Pearl Cardinal" is back! The matte is gone - has it really been almost a decade? Looks simply outstanding with the clean white hog on the side! Updated locker room which is a big improvement and it seems Bilema's black shoes are out. Rest assured you will see the anthracite... but will there be any chrome domes? Article with GREAT closeup photos here.
UPDATE: Well, that didn't take long - already in the second week... chrome domes. See blog entry in middle column. Oh dear Lord.
Baylor
Eerily quiet on the Baylor uni front - but then... it should be. Focus on football instead of swag and you might get a few more wins this year. Same unis as last year with the base 2013 set along with he gray set added in 2015. Check me if I lose count here: so five colors of the pants, jerseys, and helmets - green, gold, white, black, and gray. Plus the chrome dome helmet. The regular gold helmet has a throwback gray facemask. The only big news is going with Vicis helmets.
Houston
Dead silence on the UH side, which is a good thing. Houston keeps their classic look with stripes on jerseys and pants. Of course, we are stuck with the bevel. 2 pants, 2 jerseys, and ummmm... a grotesque number of helmets - but loving the comments on that tweet and people wanting old school block UH. #FocusOnTheFieldNotSwag #BoiseState #OregonDucks #WhereAreTheyNow
UPDATE: Holy hell - UofH levelled the bevel!
Rice
Another loss of the Old English. An Old English R was still on the white jerseys last year, but now replaced with the ugly, copycat wordmark put on the navy jerseys last year. In addition - what the hell is that shade of blue??? Will the other helmets in this photo make it onto the field? 2 pants. 2 jerseys, 2 helmets I hope this another short-lived Owl football trend like so many over the years - I will be patient and try to wait it out. New Adidas template so the dreaded tire tread is gone. But a-ha, what is this new little detail? A little Texas logo with an Old English R on the back collar!
UPDATE: Rice Equipment surprised the players at game time (after tweeting a fake uni lineup - see middle column) with gray jerseys and pants. Only problem is they were the new dark gray look and worn with awful patriotic pointed stripe and chrome modern owl logo on a white helmet...
SMU
Crickets... will be interesting to see which unis of the Chad Morris explosion get field time under Sonny Dykes. So lets count it up - 4 jerseys, 4 pants, 4 helmets (white, blue, black, red chrome). Last year they wore white-white-white 4 times, white-blue-white 2 times, black-black-black 2 times, white-red-white, white-red-red, white-white-black, red-red-red, white-white-red, red-black-black. It will be interesting to see how often the blue and black are worn this year. Visual of the color combos I listed above with week 1 on the left (verticle columns - helmet, jersey, pants).
Texas
Another year of few changes under Del Conte as expected. However... there is something bad. The usual pre-season "oh, what is this" panic was once again unrealized. Good story on the color of burnt orange. The TEXAS wordmark is just a little bigger this year - any dwarfing of that swoosh is good with me! Now for the bad news - black shoes at home. Okay, so I like the throwback of black shoes as evidenced on this site with the following of Bilema's black shoes at Arkansas and of course, the UT throwbacks in 2015. But old school black shoes must be worn with white (... and orange) socks in football. This is the worst look EVER!
Texas A&M
Every year we get to keep those beautiful 70s throwbacks with the stripes along the yoke is a true blessing. No changes at all from the Aggies other than the new Adidias template that dumps the ugly tire tread. How will Jimbo play it? How much alt uni wearing will happen? Is there a special one-off in the works? Only time will tell. Here is a hype video with nothing to hype...
UPDATE: 1998 Throwbacks! Wait, is it a throwback if it is actually newer than the throwback look you are currently rocking? Unfortunately despite efforts to mimic mesh jerseys, they ended up being fauxbacks. Because they wore big honking, ugly retro SEC logos... for a uni paying tribute to their 98 Big XII title. Huh???
TCU
Crickets at TCU... stuck with their hodge-podge look for yet another year.
Texas Tech
More crickets from Texas Tech. Of course there will be a helmet decal for Senor Sack Gabe Rivera.
Kudos
08.19.11 - VERY COOL WEBSITE!!! I'm not sure I could put it more succinctly or accurately than that. - Robert D
08.15.11 - Your Southwest Conference web site is absolutely fantastic. - JDD
02.12.11 - Thanks again for putting this website up and keeping the memory alive of the SWC - Walter F.
09.01.10 - You do have a most interesting website - Bob J
11.24.09 - Fantastic website, btw -- I remember the SWC fondly...and sometimes not so fondly ;) -Jason S
11.01.09 - I found your SWC link and forwarded it to 20 friends from the UofArkansas. You have done a wonderful job. Very best regards, Uof A Razorback 66-72 -David E
10.29.09 - I just stumbled across your website... it's great!! -Eric
10.13.08 - Susan, I love your web-site, SWCFootball. -Jay B
09.03.08 - I had to chuckle whena I read that SMU is going back to their "roots" by sporting white helmets. If they truly wished to go back that far, they'd wear all red (leather or plastic). As a native San Antonian, I remember their uniforms from the Doak Walker-Kyle Rote-Pat Knight era: red helmets (no stripes), red jerseys (no stripes), white numerals, and gray pants. No blue at all to be seen. (For what it's worth, in the 1940s I watched many a high school game with Rote and Knight in the backfield for the Jefferson Mustangs.) Much to my father's annoyance, each football season I'd plaster the windows of the family car with those Humble Oil giveaway pennants in SWC team colors. As I recall they were placed on the outside of the windows and made for difficult removal (once the season was over, that chore was mine). Keep up the good work. -Warren Thompson, Lebanon PA
09.03.08 - BTW, Susan, that’s an amazing site on SWC you have. Good work. -Justin in AR (via Uni Watch)
07.04.08 - I love your SWC site. I've put up a season-ending wrap the last two years: the final SWC standings, using Jeff Sagarin's rankings. Hope you'll check it out. Go Owls! -John Cunyus