Men's Basketball Releases New Uniforms - A Nod to 1988
TUCSON, Ariz. – When the 2022-23 Arizona men's basketball team takes the court this season, they will do so in new uniforms with a familiar look to some. On Wednesday, the program released video and photos of completely redesigned uniforms that will serve as the primary uniforms this season.
The home "whites" and road "blues" feature a simple and clean design that is loosely based off the same uniforms that Wildcat teams wore in the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s. The font across the front of the jerseys that spells out ARIZONA is from that era and the shorts also feature the word 'CATS' horizontally on the right side. On the left side of the shorts is the modern Block 'A' logo on top of a basketball.
That era of Arizona basketball saw the arrival of legendary head coach Lute Olson in 1983 and Olson would go on to guide the Wildcats to the program's first Final Four in 1988. The era produced numerous All-Americans and NBA Draft picks, led by Tucson's own Sean Elliott, who still holds the career scoring mark in Arizona history with 2,555 points.
New additions to the uniforms include a nod to Coach Olson, with the word "LUTE" in gold lettering at the inside bottom of the back of the jersey. Although it has been on the uniform in the past, the fan-favorite 'cactus' logo makes its return to the outside of the front of the waistband of the shorts.
To assist in the reveal of the uniforms, the program asked Elliott along with nine-time NBA Champion and current head coach of the Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr, a Wildcat from 1984-88, to provide an assist. As the video below shows, they both overwhelmingly approve of the look.
The Wildcats will wear the new uniforms for the first time at the First Watch Red-Blue Game on Friday, Sept. 30. The blue uniforms will also be available in the future for fans to order online or in-person at Arizona bookstores. To be the first to know when these are available, sign-up for notifications by visiting arizonawildcats.com/uniforms.
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