Which Gonzaga men's basketball uniform is your favorite?
Dating back to the days of John Stockton hooping in the old Martin Centre, the Gonzaga men's basketball program hasn’t deviated much from its uniform roots (except by dropping the short shorts). Aside from the occasional promotion or celebration, the colors have remained consistent while fonts and stripes have been updated throughout the years to reflect the times and styles of the players wearing the threads.
That is, except for that one “cursed” alternative uniform the team breaks out for seemingly every high-profile matchup outside of the Kennel. Maybe it’s time to put those ones to rest for a while.
Take a look back at Gonzaga’s uniforms throughout the decades and make sure to vote in our poll at the bottom of the post.
ORIGINAL RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Photo by Christopher Anderson, The Spokesman-Review
The early 1900s wasn’t a stylish time for basketball uniforms — players were fitted in baggy flannel trousers, sweaters and knee-high socks until the first sleeveless jerseys came around in the 1920s, and even those were a far cry from modern-day uniforms. A lot changed over the next 60 years, though shorts remained short and jerseys stayed tight while belts were replaced by sewn-in elastic bands.
Gonzaga’s earliest uniforms were no different, and it wasn’t until the mid-70s that the program ditched its short-sleeved t-shirts for sleeveless jerseys, paving the way for the iconic look Stockton made popular in the 1980s. The red and blue trim around the letters and numbers, combined with the two-tone stripe down the side and collar, was a simplistic design that still holds up to this day. Take a stroll around campus and there’s bound to be at least one student wearing the old-school white “Gonzaga” No. 12 jersey.
Despite having a future NBA Hall-of-Famer in Stockton, Gonzaga didn’t have a recognizable brand to those outside Spokane. The school itself was small (2,005 enrolled undergraduates in the 1980-81 school year) and the team struggled in the West Coast Athletic Conference, never finishing better than fourth place in the Stockton era.
Then in 1993, in Dan Fitzgerald’s first year as head coach, the program earned its first postseason tournament berth by way of the NIT, while still wearing the original red, white and blue threads.
FIRST DANCE
Photo by Dan Pelle, The Spokesman-Review
Gonzaga set the college basketball world ablaze with an improbable run to the Elite Eight in the 1998-99 season, the start of a 25-yearlong run of consistent success as one of the premier programs in the country. And while the Zags kept returning to the tournament, they (thankfully) left these deep-blue satin disasters back in the 90s.
They’re iconic, sure, but certainly not for their design. The “Gonzaga” wordmark across the chest is barely visible and the white knee cuffs appear four inches long. The Bulldog logo on the side of the shorts is a solid touch, but overall, these uniforms are a far cry from the clean, simple design the program rocked for the previous 20 years.
The 1998-99 home whites were a much more simplistic design that resembled its predecessor, with the square West Coast Conference patch on the knee cuff and the word “Zags” scribbled on the side of the shorts.
Still, the crew of Richie Frahm, Matt Santangelo, Casey Calvary and company earned their stripes as program icons while dawning the satin blue alternatives.
2000-2001
Photo by Christopher Anderson, The Spokesman-Review
Gonzaga built off its Cinderella run heading into the new millennia, which meant a complete uniform revamp.
Starting with typography, Gonzaga moved away from solid block lettering to a two-tone wordmark in a different font style from previous years. This would be the inspiration for future jersey designs, as the current Zags uniforms have swirl lettering in a similar fashion. The 2001 uniforms still featured the word “Zags” stacked down the left side of the shorts and also used the same font and color scheme.
Another noticeable change is the V-neck collar that marked the end of U-neck basketball jerseys. And instead of a three-tone colorway, the collar was solid blue for home uniforms and white for away. One of the biggest changes, though, was the stripes that ran from the shoulders down to the knees.
It was a look made popular during Adam Morrison’s historic run over his three seasons as a Zag, as the design still serves as inspiration for the program’s current threads.
Speaking of which, maybe it’s time to bring back the red alternatives from this era as well.
HYPER ELITE ROAD ALTERNATIVE
There isn’t one good memory about these monstrosities that Nike forced Gonzaga to wear for just one game back in the 2012-13 season, a top-15 matchup against Butler that every Zags fan still doesn’t want to relive.
Up 63-62 with 4.6 seconds left, all Gonzaga had to do was inbound the ball and finish the game at the free-throw line after Butler’s Alex Barlow traveled on the previous possession. But an errant pass to Kelly Olynyk was intercepted by Roosevelt Jones, and just like that, one of the worst memories in Gonzaga basketball was born.
It hurt in the moment, but maybe we should thank Jones for putting these uniforms out to rest for good after that shot.
N7
Photo by Erik Smith/Myk Crawford
Gonzaga dawns their bright turquoise alternatives in honor of Native American Heritage Month, as the color is symbolic of friendship and fellowship in Native American cultures.
Most recently worn during last season’s home opener against North Florida, the Zags partnered with Nike N7 to leverage basketball as a way of showing Native American youth that physical activity can have a profound effect on future generations. “N7” refers to the Seven Generations.
Gonzaga beat Northern Arizona, 91-52, in 2015 to debut the N7 alternatives. The following season, the Zags eased to a 109-70 win over Bryant in the uniforms. In the 2018-19 season-opener against Idaho State in turquoise, the Bulldogs defeated Idaho State, 120-79.
COMMEMORATING PHIL KNIGHT
Photo by Jaime Valdez, USA TODAY Sports
When it was announced that an in-season college basketball tournament would be played to recognize Phil Knight’s birthday, it was no surprise to see Nike go all-out in designing uniforms to honor its co-founder. All 16 teams got decked out in new threads, and for Gonzaga, the result was a little too Trail Blazers and not enough Bulldogs.
Fans at the time were already scarred of black uniforms, and considering the fact other programs’ special edition jerseys reflected their school’s colors, it’s odd that Gonzaga’s colorway didn’t respect the program’s red, white and blue.
Regardless, the Zags went 2-1 in the tournament and finished in third place. The special edition uniforms haven’t made another appearance since.
FAUXBACK
Gonzaga debuted its white fauxback uniforms in the 2020 season to pay homage to the program’s infamous run to the Elite Eight in 1999. Obviously, it’s not reflective of what the team wore during that season, but they certainly had a bit of magic woven in the threads.
The old-school striping on the collar and shoulders, the “G” on the waistband, the “ZAGS” wordmark and don’t forget the vintage Bulldogs logo on the bottom of the shorts. One of the sharpest uniforms the program has to offer came during one of the most memorable seasons to date, as Gonzaga marched on to an undefeated regular season while occasionally breaking out the throwback digs.
Then, in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament, Jalen Suggs cemented himself and the jerseys into Gonzaga lore forever.
ARMED FORCES CLASSIC
Photo by Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports
Gonzaga paid tribute to the U.S. military with these light-grey camouflage uniforms in the Armed Forces Classic against Michigan State last season on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego.
The design, which doesn’t stray far from Gonzaga’s regular threads aside from the camo print, is similar to the ones the program wore in the 2015 Armed Forces Classic against Pittsburgh in Okinawa, Japan.
"CURSED" BLACK ALTERNATIVES
Photo by Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports
It felt right to save the most polarizing uniform for last. It’s weird to think about a jersey as a scapegoat for when things go wrong, but that’s exactly how Gonzaga fans view the alleged “cursed” black jerseys.
The villain’s origin story dates back to the Elite Eight round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, when No. 2-seeded Gonzaga wore the black uniform against No. 1-seeded Duke for the right to play in the Final Four. Domantas Sabonis and company had the young Blue Devils in check until a late second-half flurry prevented the Zags from reaching their first Final Four.
Two years later, the bad omen was summoned during the 2017 National Championship game against North Carolina. Fans have a lot to gripe about that game — from Kennedy Meeks getting away with being out-of-bounds to the questionable foul calls against Zach Collins — but in some fans’ eyes the black uniforms are to blame for the devastating loss.
The narrative grew so large that former players had to deny any curse when asked about the black uniforms in 2021. A new iteration of the design debuted that season, much to the disliking of Zags fans, and thus breathing life into the alleged “curse”.
