WATCH: Oklahoma announces new, special player-led uniform selection
Oklahoma football announced Wednesday that it will debut its new alternate “Unity” uniforms, designed by a group of former Sooners, for Saturday’s matchup against Kansas. The uniform will honor former running back Prentice Gautt, the first black scholarship player at OU.
Saturday’s uniforms will feature anthracite-colored jerseys, pants and helmets, crimson trim and lettering, the word “TOGETHER” sewn on the collar, the word “UNITY” on the back-of-the-jersey nameplate and an outline of the state of Oklahoma amid a triple-stripe on both sleeves. Former Sooners football players Pat Fields, Jeremiah Hall, Creed Humphrey, Caleb Kelly and Chanse Sylvie were involved in the design.
“We wanted to honor Prentice for being the first African American scholarship football player here,” Kelly, a former OU linebacker who is now a director for the football team’s SOUL Mission program, said. “He stood for unity, he stood for doing things the right way. He stood for making sure that you handled academics and football. He was one of the founding fathers who made Oklahoma football what it is and gave all the African American players who have come through OU that opportunity.”
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Gautt, who is from Oklahoma City and played for Douglass High School, was also the first black player to be named to Oklahoma’s All-State high school team. He went on to star on Hall of Fame head coach Bud Wilkinson’s varsity teams from 1957-59 in Norman. He was twice named to the All-Big Eight team, and later played professionally in the NFL for the Browns and Cardinals.
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Gautt joined the Big Eight as assistant commissioner in 1979, rising through the ranks to the position of associate commissioner of the Big 12 Conference. Gautt passed away in 2005, but his widow, Sandra Gautt, who lives in Lawrence, Kan., and son, Roger, will be recognized on the field Saturday during a first-half timeout.
“I have so much respect for our current and former student-athletes for their leadership during this process and for how they really wanted to — and continue to want to — make a difference by bringing people together within our university and beyond,” athletic director Joe Castiglione said. “As an athletics department, we value student-athlete engagement and include their voice in strengthening their experience as well as ways they can positively impact others. In this case especially, we were proud of their efforts and eager to support the endeavor.
“Additionally, I was able to witness firsthand Dr. Prentice Gautt become the leading voice in championing student-athlete welfare across the country with his magnificent leadership in that space. His impact as a young pioneer at OU and as a visionary for student-athlete development and success later in his life blazed a trail that will positively impact lives forever. He left an amazing legacy for all of us to follow.”