Notre Dame uniforms revealed for Sept. 25 vs. Wisconsin at Soldier Field

Notre Dame uniforms are iconic and rarely change. In an era of college football where flashy threads are common and teams like Oregon seem to have different uniform combinations each week, the Irish stick to tradition.

Except on special occassions.

On September 25, Notre Dame will square off against Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago. On Monday, the Irish took to social media to release the “2021 Shamrock Series,” uniforms, meant to pay homage to the city of Chicago where the game will be held.

It's all in the 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/005MJHo30l

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 9, 2021

Notre Dame uniforms honor history with Solider Field and Chicago

The first-ever football game held at Chicago’s Solider Field was not played by the Chicago Bears.

Notre Dame defeated Northwestern 13-6 on Nov. 22, 1924 in the debut of the iconic venue. The biggest crowd for a college football game was in 1927, when 123,000 watched Notre Dame battle USC.

The Irish football team has played 12 games at Solider Field to honor its tie to the city of Chicago. The most recent game of the “Shamrock Series” came in 2012, when Notre Dame routed Miami, 41-3. Notre Dame owns a 10-0-2 record in games played at Soldier Field.

Uniforms pay homage to Chicago in subtle detail

The designers were clearly thoughtful and intentional. While the subtle changes to the classic Notre Dame navy blue jerseys, gold helmets and gold pants don’t catch your eye at first glance, they carry significant meaning and are placed in key places.

Like the caption says, “it’s all in the details.”

The sleeve, normally bare, has two gold stripes to resemble the rivers and waterways represented on the city of Chicago’s flag. The numbers are in Block slab-serif font and represent the “City of Broad Shoulders.”

The helmet honors the Chicago flag, which bears four red stars in between two thick red stars. Notre Dame replicated the exact design, but replacing the colors with navy blue strips and gold stars.

The collar prominently displays the Notre Dame football program’s mission statement of “graduating champions,” while the pants are a direct nod to the Notre Dame team that played the first game at Soldier Field in 1924, the same year the Irish won its first National Championship.

Finally, the gloves echo the city of Chicago’s flag by mirroring the pant stripe.