Tennessee Basketball to wear new 'Dark Mode' alternate uniform against Syracuse
Tennessee Basketball will unveil a new alternate black uniform on Tuesday against Syracuse in the SEC-ACC Challenge game at Food City Center. The ‘Dark Mode’ look, the first black uniform in program history, is similar to the jersey worn by the Tennessee Baseball team, with Vols in orange block letters across the chest, with orange numbers.
No. 3 Tennessee (7-0) and Syracuse (4-2) are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN.
Rick Barnes first mentioned a black alternate uniform was in the works over the summer, not long after the Tennessee baseball team won the College World Series wearing its alternate black jersey.
During an appearance on ‘Josh & Swain’ on WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville in June, Barnes told Josh Ward and Jayson Swain that a black alternate uniform had been “mocked up” and was “in the works” for his Tennessee Basketball team.
“I will tell you this,” Barnes said, when asked about the possibility of a ‘Dark Mode’ alternate basketball uniform during the radio appearance, “we have designed one in the offseason. Because one, Nike wants us to do that. Obviously our brand is popular and I know people like (black uniforms). I wear black most every day.”
Vols have added multiple alternate uniforms since 2017
Tennessee in January 2023 introduced a ‘Tennessee Classic’ uniform, an off-white uniform with orange piping and a script ‘Vols’ across the chest, paying homage to uniforms worn by the team in 1936. The alternate uniform made its debut against Texas in the Big 12-SEC Challenge in January 2023 and has been worn multiple times each of the last two seasons, including both NCAA Tournaments the last two years.
There was also a ‘Smokey Grey’ uniform designed and worn in 2017, but has not been used since. Tennessee’s current uniform started as a throwback alternate unveiled in November 2018.
With a ‘Dark Mode’ alternate uniform, Barnes had a point he wanted to make with Nike. If the Vols are getting black uniforms, he wants them to be all black.
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“I told them, I said, (if) we’re going wear black, we’re going to wear black,” Barnes said. “It’s not going to have a lot of piping on it. It’s going be pretty much look like our baseball uniform, but with black pants and with no piping on it. Because I said if that’s what we’re going we’re going to do, we’re going to do it that way.”
Tennessee Baseball won national title in ‘Dark Mode’ alternate uniform
Tennessee Baseball won its first national title wearing its ‘Dark Mode’ alternate uniform. The black jersey, which itself has no orange piping, has ‘VOLS’ in orange block letters across the chest, with orange numbers.
That’s the same look Barnes said in June he was hoping for in the basketball version.
“We’ve got a mockup of it and it’s in the works,” Barnes said, “and I know the players will love it. I know that if you walk into one of the stores to buy a Tennessee jersey, I think it’s the kind that people say, man, I’d like to have that.
“It’s simple, but I think it’s well stated because it’s got the most important thing on it. And that’s ‘Vols’.”
