UCLA football debuts Jordan Brand revamp of iconic uniforms for 2021 season

This post was updated Aug. 22 at 9:31 p.m.

In a saga that began more than a year ago, the Jordan Brand has finally arrived at UCLA.

When Under Armour – the Bruins’ previous apparel sponsor – announced it was terminating its 15-year, $280 million contract with the university in June 2020, the hunt began for a new brand for the blue and gold to represent. After more than five months of waiting, the Bruin community finally learned who would be coming to Westwood.

Now, more than eight months later, the Jordan Brand is officially on the UCLA Store shelves, along with parent company Nike, after officially beginning its contract with UCLA on July 1. UCLA football became the first team to sport the new gear and is one of three total Bruin teams that will wear Jordan Brand apparel, while the rest will sport the patented Nike swoosh.

“Jordan is a brand that, as a kid growing up, you always wanted to be a part of,” said senior defensive back Quentin Lake. “Seeing Michael Jordan, seeing some of your favorite players wear the brand, it’s awesome to be a part of this Jordan organization.”

The team unveiled its new uniforms in late July, which feature the Jumpman logo throughout the ensemble as well as minor detail changes to reflect the Vapor Untouchable template. Changes include shorter stripes on the shoulders and slight adjustments to the coloring throughout.

While the new outfits maintain much of the previous Under Armour look, coach Chip Kelly said the well-known appearance of the Bruin uniforms is something he doesn’t plan on changing.

“There’s a couple football programs in football that have iconic football uniforms; UCLA is one of them,” Kelly said. “I call it the airport test. If you walk in an airport, you look out the corner of your eye, you can tell who’s playing. You know when Alabama is playing, Penn State, UCLA is playing. That’s working really well for this program, and I’m not going to change that.”

While the Bruins’ previous two sponsors – Under Armour and Adidas – both made slight adjustments to the uniforms during their time in Westwood, the blue and gold jerseys have remained largely the same throughout the years.

The unveiling of the new uniforms was met with support and excitement from fans and players alike, even with the limited changes, and Lake said the team’s new apparel will encourage them to perform this season.

“When we did the jersey reveal, everybody was stoked to see the new uniforms and the minor adjustments that they made,” Lake said. “Being a part of Jordan, I think it just gives us more motivation to do better. The jerseys are clean, the workout gear is clean – it’s nice, it’s solidified, it’s awesome.”

Redshirt senior defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight remembers the first time he tried on the new apparel.

“I kept (the gear) on the whole day – I didn’t want to take them off, literally,” Knight said. “Really nice clothes and gear that we have, and they look better when we win beside it, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Not only do the new threads inspire current athletes, but the Jordan Brand partnership also stands to benefit the Bruins’ recruitment efforts with potential athletes being drawn toward the opportunity to sport Jumpman attire.

Kelly said athletes’ desire to be associated with the brand will help the team with recruiting, while Knight added he can relate to wanting to don the well-known brand.

UCLA currently sits at No. 31 nationally and fourth in the conference with its 2021 recruiting class, moving up the rankings after the team added multiple recruits following the initial National Signing Day period – and after the Bruins inked their deal with Jordan.

“Jordan Brand is huge for recruiting,” Knight said. “I mean every player in the country wants to put on a pair of Jordans. … Just having Jordan here and Nike, (I) guarantee every player wants to put that on. So I feel like it’s huge for us.”

At the time UCLA secured the deal with its new sponsor, it became just the fifth college football team in the nation to sign with the Jordan Brand. Other Power Five schools in business with the brand include North Carolina, Michigan, Oklahoma and Florida, but UCLA was the first college football team on the West Coast to nab the sponsorship.

One of the bigger Jordan Brand athletes, former UCLA men’s basketball guard and newly minted Los Angeles Laker Russell Westbrook gave his approval of the new sponsorship when he visited campus July 30. Westbrook boasts his own partnership with Jordan Brand that features shoes and other apparel.

Redshirt senior running back Brittain Brown said Westbrook’s visit to the Wasserman Football Center – where he talked to players, Kelly and athletic director Martin Jarmond – showed one of the many positives the new apparel brand sponsorship will provide.

“(There are) extra benefits we get from being one of the few schools that has Jordan, so I know it’s going to bring a lot of prospects to UCLA too,” Brown said. “Russell Westbrook was out here today so it was cool seeing him, and I know he’s a big Jordan Brand guy, so it’s just bringing us nothing but positive things.”

The Bruins are now five days out from their first game of the year, and senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson said sporting Jordan Brand will help the team become its best this season.

“Here at UCLA, we’re striving to be the best, so in order to be the best you got to surround yourself with the best, and so I feel like Jordan Brand is the best,” Thompson-Robinson said. “That’s what we’re going to rock this year.”