By Krista Pirtle
Staff Writer
The No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears basketball team will display what many hope to be the look of the future when it hosts Texas A&M on Feb. 11.
Nike has unveiled its new Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms, which are just that color: gray.
The Uni Watch college basketball season-preview column ran in November that “College basketball is under a cloud — a gray cloud.”
As the latest and most innovative fit system, the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniform is designed at the intersection of sustainability and performance.
These specifically designed, all-gray uniforms have been given to nine schools, all of which have won NCAA championships in Nike footwear and apparel: Baylor women’s team, Connecticut women’s and men’s teams, Arizona men’s team, Duke men’s team, Florida men’s team, Kentucky men’s team and North Carolina men’s team.
“Nike is committed to producing top-of-the-line performance attire with reduced sacrifice to the environment,” said Phil Cook, Nike’s brand manager for basketball. “With our Nike Hyper Elite Platinum design, Nike is maintaining its long-standing obligations to our fans to not only produce the best on-court looks but also a design that makes use of the resources we already have.”
Nike created the uniforms specifically for superior performance and lower environmental impact.
The fabric of the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester while the jersey fabric is made from at least 96 percent recycled polyester.
Both short and jersey are tailored for the optimal efficiency of movement and are 5 percent lighter than the previous Nike Hyper Elite uniform.
The shorts have laser perforations for breathability. The letters and numbers are reflective.
These jerseys have come about due to a commitment made by Nike in 2011.
The back of the jerseys will have a sublimated graphic as they have in the past; however, this time the graphic will not be contained to the center but extended from shoulder to shoulder.
The player names will be under the number and the years of the school’s past championships are shown in little stars above the number.
Nike committed to increasing its use of more sustainable materials by doubling its use of recycled polyester, using approximately 440 million PET plastic bottles, enough to cover over 12,000 basketball courts, and 2012 will build off of those successes.
Not only will Baylor and the eight other teams receive jerseys; shoes will be thrown in as well.
The Nike Hyper Enforcers offer a mixture of dependability and flexibility, according to representatives from Nike.
These uniforms will be worn only once this season.
