BYU Unveils Uniform Combination for Independence Bowl

BYU will sport another unique combination in the Independence Bowl

On Sunday afternoon, BYU released the uniform combination it will wear against UAB in the Independence Bowl. BYU will sport the "midnight Virgil" for the second time this season.

A Uni Combo worth repeating—Goin’ MIDNIGHT VIRGIL against @UAB_FB in the @IndyBowl!! #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/hWaMCtPY4j

— Bill Nixon (@coachbillynixon) December 5, 2021

In the first 12 games of the season, BYU wore 12 unique uniform combinations. This is the first repeat combination of the season.

2021 Uniform Recap

BYU wore the "royal rush" combination in the season opener against Arizona.

Then they wore the traditional royal home uniforms against Utah with a small twist: the helmets featured a "nickel" facemask instead of the customary royal facemask.

The Cougars wore all white with royal accents in their win over #19 Arizona State.

They wore the classic navy home uniform in their victory over USF.

Against Utah State, the Cougars wore the classic royal away uniform with the "Giff" facemask under the Friday night lights.

In the loss against Boise State, they wore all navy.

Against Baylor, BYU wore the navy away uniform with the navy helmet.

Against Washington State, BYU wore all white with navy accents.

BYU wore the "Virgil" in a wild shootout against Virginia.

On Senior night, they wore the "Midnight Virgil" against Idaho State.

Against Georgia Southern, the Cougars wore the "Royal Sitake".

Credit: BYU Photo

Against USC, they wore the royal away uniforms with royal helmets.

Connecting Uniforms to Tradition

The BYU equipment staff will continue to announce the uniform combination for each game in a similar format as last season, with each uniform being revealed the week of the game. Since 1964, BYU has donned royal helmets, white helmets, and navy helmets. For the first time in program history, however, BYU wore royal helmets, white helmets, and navy helmets in the same season. When BYU added the royal helmets and navy helmets in March, they provided the historical context for blue helmets in BYU football history.

"In 1969, celebrating the centennial of college football, the Cougars returned to a white helmet with double-stripe design that had been used during the 1956 season. Now commonly viewed as the classic BYU look, the white helmet with blue stripes and Y logo remained the primary helmet for the next three decades during the Edwards era until a navy-blue helmet was adopted in 1999.

In partnership with Nike in 1999, BYU introduced the navy helmet along with new logos, colors, and uniforms. The navy jersey and helmet had not been used at BYU since the 1950s. The dark blue helmet again became a part of the tradition-rich history of Cougar football, which included the final season of Coach Edwards’ Hall of Fame career in 2000. Also finishing his playing career that same season was current BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, while other Cougar standouts such as Doak Walker Award winner Luke Staley, future NFL quarterbacks Brandon Doman and John Beck and many other great players donned the blue helmet while adding to the BYU football legacy.

In 2005, under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, the Cougars returned to the white helmet with the traditional-style jersey that had been popular throughout much of the Edwards era. All three colors of helmets that will now be utilized by BYU—white, royal, andnavy—were used during Edwards' tenure in Provo dating back to 1962."