Iowa State defensive coordinator John Heacock could be a top candidate to follow Penn State head coach Matt Campbell to Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions' next defensive coordinator. (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)
Penn State Football has one of the most iconic, but basic, uniforms in college football with very little variation in the Nittany Lions‘ uniforms over the history of the program.
“Black shoes, basic blues, no names, all game.”
Might that be about to change?
After the Sandusky scandal, head coach Bill O’Brien decided to recognize the players resolve and dedication in staying at Penn State through the scandal and the sanctions.
However, after just two seasons, former Penn State head coach James Franklin made the decision to return to the iconic no name jerseys in 2015.
With head coach Matt Campbell in charge of the program, however, Penn State could be entering a new era where the iconic jerseys may see more change over the next few seasons than the previous 130+ seasons combined.
Why Matt Campbell could consider changing Penn State’s iconic jerseys
Matt Campbell has a history of making interesting changes to a school’s uniforms.
At Iowa State, Campbell added black and white uniforms to Iowa State’s uniform rotation, a move away from the university’s colors of cardinal and gold.
In a post-game press conference appearance after a win over Kansas State, Campbell pressed the media to ask about why Iowa State sometimes wears black instead of school colors.
“We don’t really care what color we wear,” Campbell told reporters. “It’s never been about a jersey color for us, it’s never been about any of that. It’s about team, togetherness and playing winning football.”
Why changing jersey colors might not go over well with Penn State fans
While the change in jersey colors away from school colors may have gone over fine with Iowa State fans, where the program lacked any real history before Campbell arrived, Campbell may find it more difficult to introduce such changes at Penn State.
Penn State’s fans have been accustomed to a very rich tradition over the years, stemming from the longevity of the Paterno era and the few changes that happened during that era. Penn State fans have pushed back against most changes in the program’s tradition, even the names on the backs of the jerseys in 2012.
While the fans have accepted the Generations of Greatness alternate jerseys and white shoes *gasp*, Campbell may want to slow roll any major changes to Penn State’s iconic look.
What could a change to Penn State’s uniforms look like?
While it may be a tough sell to Penn State fans, there are a few options that Campbell could pursue for alternate jerseys. The simplistic change would be to introduce the collar and sleeve color change that Penn State used on the Generations of Greatness uniforms this season as a permanent feature on Penn State’s uniform, or make an alternate uniform that is used more than once per season.
Another potential example would be a blackout alternate uniform for Penn State similar to the blackout uniforms that Campbell introduced at Iowa State.
Since Campbell wasn’t tied to the color of uniform at Iowa State, he could be more open than past Penn State coaches to introduce a black uniform.
One of the most interesting changes that Penn State could introduce would be a black and pink alternate uniform, paying homage to the original Penn State colors.
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Why timing could be in Campbell’s favor in changing Penn State’s look
Although I mentioned before that Penn State fans would push back against major changes to the Penn State uniform, the change from Nike to Adidas this year could spark a redesign of the Penn State uniform.
For the first time since Penn State entered the Big Ten in 1993, Nike will not be the uniform provider for the Nittany Lions when they kick off the 2026 season. With the switch to Adidas happening this year, it would make sense for the uniform to change slightly as Adidas makes their stamp on the iconic uniform.
This could vary from a change to the collar and sleeve color to a radical redesign of the shade of blue or a black alternate shown above. What changes Campbell and Adidas make to Penn State’s iconic uniform remain to be seen.
Either way, 2026 marks a major new era for Penn State with the Campbell and Adidas era officially beginning.
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