Retro Notre Dame Jerseys Revealed

Notre Dame and adidas unveiled a new retro style jersey that the Irish will wear when they travel to Ann Arbor for the first night game in Michigan Stadium, and as expected, Notre Dame will be sporting shamrocks on their helmets in addition to the iconic gold paint.

Notre Dame "Under the Lights" Jersey
Notre Dame and adidas unveiled the retro style jerseys that the Irish will wear when they travel to the Big House on 9/10/11. (Photo from adidas Facebook)

Unlike some of the crazy jerseys that have become the norm in college football, the retro style (these are not exact throwbacks) are pretty reserved and shouldn’t upset too many fans.  Michigan will be wearing special jerseys as well, but theirs are a little more on the crazy side.

Here’s what Brian Kelly had to say about the special jerseys his team will be wearing 3 months from today.

“We are happy to partner with adidas to help commemorate the first night game at Michigan Stadium with new uniforms.  It seems fitting that the two schools with the two best winning percentages in college football play in this historic game. I know our players are looking forward to the contest and both teams’ new uniforms will only add to the excitement in the Big House on September 10.”

Notre Dame last wore special jerseys for last year’s Army game in Yankee Stadium and also wore a special jersey for the 2007 USC game when Notre Dame honored the 1977 national champions by wearing the same green home jersey the ’77 squad wore.  Hopefully the results on the field will be much better for the Irish this time around.

This won’t be the first time Notre Dame will have shamrocks on its helmets for a game.  Notre Dame featured the shamrock on its helmets from 1959-1962 under the coaching of Joe Kuharich.  In 1963 the shamrock was replaced with a numeral on the side of the helmet.  When Ara Parseghian took over the head coaching duties in 1964, Notre Dame returned to the traditional plain gold helmets.

For anyone interested in buying one of these jerseys, adidas has said that they will be available starting August 1 and there will be a full line of shirts, hats, etc for the “Under the Lights” game.

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35 Comments

  1. Don’t like the shamrock on the helmet!!! Can’t stand the green jerseys or green numbers on the jerseys!! I love the blue and gold with the solid gold helmet; that is Notre Dame to me! Guess I’ll just have to pretend it’s 1977 v USC and we are running out of a wooden horse to beat the Wolverines!

  2. I think the jersey and the helmet look awesome.

    You also have to remember this is for the players…..the 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 year olds who wear the uniforms and put in the time and effort to turn this program around. This also helps with recruiting; if a kid sees cutting edge uniforms and a little flair, this will draw attention. Look at Oregon; they have some ugly uniforms, but I know I check out every weeks highlights to see what uniform combo they pulled out for the week.

    It isn’t 1958, 1968, 1978, and it sure is heck isn’t 1988. It is ok to step outside the box every now and then. Coach Kelly and adidas didn’t do this for the 70 year old fan who sits on his hands the entire game (don’t try and pretend like the stadium isn’t full of them!), they did it for the younger generation of fans and players.

    GO IRISH!

  3. Personally I dont care what they wear as long as they spank that Michigan A**! Its about winning this year… Go Irish!!!

  4. I guess not too many of the posters remember that for many years the Irish wore cross stripes on their helmets under Frank Leahy, as well as, green uniforms. I don’t think his record was too bad!

  5. Stoic, Im a “purest” about my Irish too, but if they came out of that tunnel wearing neon green and purple I would cheer just as loud as I would for that beautiful gold helmet! I love the team more than I do the uniform.

  6. As far as the shamrock helmet goes, love them or hate them, they are a part of ND history. And ND history, our roots, should never be forgotten.
    It reminds us of who we are, and where we came from. The Shamrock helmet may bring up memories of a time when ND struggled on the field. But it could also represent ND’s commitment toward perseverance, sacrifice, and dedication.

    And that is a good thing.

    One symbol of Irish tradition that you never see though, is the Harp.
    A small patch of a Harp on the jersey or pants, I think would be a classy addition.
    Music is a big part of the ND culture (Our famous marching bad, and even more famous fight song)and should be acknowledged in some way, for at least single day.

  7. The fact they incorporated a theme such as the shamrock on the helmet from the Kuharich era is damn scary……thought were trying to shed the nightmare years…?

  8. Those uniforms look like the 70’s baseball uniforms. They remind me of those nasty Astro uniforms. How intimidating is a shamrock on the side of your helmet.

  9. I like the uni and helmet for a single game. It’s something different to pay homage to the teams of the 50’s and 60’s.

  10. Me personally I LOVE the uniforms and helmets. Look at how that green and gold go so good together. I can’t wait till August for football and to get my hands on 2 of these jerseys. I wonder if they will sell mini helmets also so I can buy one of those as well. Come on guys ITS JUST ONE GAME and michigan will also be in retro gear. It should be fun just alittle extra to add to already a great game.

    GO IRISH!!!

  11. No…I’m 27 years old…I’m not some old guy that is against everything new and exciting….if they feel the need to generate revenue, change the jerseys but the helmet should never be touched…period. I know it happened in the past but it happened under a loser coach and represented the most losing period of ND football. We are Notre Dame and as much as I hate them…they are Michigan and their uniforms are iconic…we don’t need gimmicks and BS to generate interest and revenue toward this game. This is not Oregon and Nike…this whole thing is Adidas trying to keep up with the distracted youth of “Hey did you see Oregon’s 19th different style of uniform, it really looked like a reptile?”…win football games and the rest will take care of itself. Maybe the Yankees should drop the pin stripes too…those are starting to get old…

    Dear Rob, I know it’s not 1988 anymore (I was 4 years old but I still respect it)…I just wish it was so we could be out there in our Golden Dome helmets with and our cut mesh jerseys kicking butt and taking names…Zorich, Stonebreaker, Stams, Lyght etc…If we want to “throwback” let’s throwback to the era that you’re dismissing because that is the era when ND was on top…not the Kuharich era when we were the laughing stock of college football. These jerseys don’t represent anything that was or anything that will ever be good about ND football.

    GO IRISH!

  12. C’mon people. Its not 1988 anymore. There is NOTHING wrong with these retro jerseys or the helmet. I think the helmet looks sweet, and while I would not want to lose the traditional ND helmet forever, I think its a neat look for one game. The more I look at them, the more I think they look awesome. I am not against tradition, but its the way things are done now, and it looks SO much better than some offerings we have seen in recent years from other schools. Lets be happy and support our team no matter what gear they wear onto the field. GO IRISH!!!!

  13. I like the jerseys, the helmets though should not be touched! They are GOLD, that is it. Nothing else should be on the helmet except gold flaked paint!

  14. I remember the administration about having a heart attack when Holtz simply suggested putting a small one on the helmets.

  15. I’m a life long Michigan fan and current student and I have to say that I really like these Irish uniforms. They are tasteful and aesthetically pleasing. The shamrock on the side of the helm looks good. I understand that it is tradition to maintain the iconic gold dome, however it is also prudent to sometimes break tradition to try something new (or old…) especially if it is just a one-time thing.

    When it’s all said and done, I think both of our football programs did a great job with their legacy uniforms, especially compared to failed attempts by other schools (OSU), and I can’t wait to see both of them in action.

    Good games Notre Dame!!!

    1. Thanks and I hope both teams play a great game. I’ll be rooting for the Irish.

      Gotta say, I feel sorry for both teams. I do not like either uniforms.

      I do like both current era uniforms.

      Like South Bend, Ann Arbor is a great place to watch a game.

  16. You cant say “never been changed”, when the article says they wore the shamrock on the helmet from ’59 to ’62. Besides its one game, nobody needs to jump off a bridge. I firmly believe as a ND fan our traditions are the most sacred, that being said every now and then its FUN to change things up a bit. That is what makes college football the greatest sport on the planet!

    1. Texas Irish,

      Look at the records of those Irish teams. They were horrible and gimmicks were thought to be needed to get interest beacause the product on the field was horrible.

      1. Just because those teams were horrible doesn’t reflect this team. That’s like saying the green jersey’s are curse.

  17. I am actually pleasantly surprised with the uniform aspect but as posted above, under no circumstance should anything be placed on the sides of the helmets. The last time I checked the Golden Dome of Our Lady does not have shamrocks or leprechauns on the side of the dome…therefore the helmets should not.

  18. The helmet is gold, and should remain only gold. Citing the Joe Kuharich era as the origin of the shamrock on the helmet speaks for itself. Maybe this designer should actually visit the campus, walk down the middle of Notre Dame Ave and look up!

  19. Spiceyirish,

    The helmet has never been changed and should never be touched. I can handle jerseys, putting shamrocks on pants, green pants, jerseys, or whatever but that helmet is sacred ground. It is what is iconic. Not a good idea to plaster a shamrock on the side of it. What next a leprachon in the endzone and a video scoreboard. Some traditions should not be touched and that is one of them. ND is not Oregon, it doesn’t need a Nike gimmick to get people to support the football team.

    1. Many love Notre Dame because of these symbolic traditions. The most important tradition though is winning. (Please don’t insert any Charlie Sheen jokes here) That is what the coaching staff and players are more concern about

    2. Actually the Joe Kuharich era has the shamrock on the helmet. So yes, the was changed at one time. I think you need to dig a little deeper into the Notre Dame football history.

    3. jack,
      do some research. the helmets have in fact been touched several times and i believe that this is a good change of pace to maybe change the face of the program since we havent been up to ND standards since Lou left. the shamrock was on the helmets from ’59-’62 these cannot be compared to oregon in any way shape or form. i too understand the importance of tradition but i also understand the need for progress and you should consider this.

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