Women’s Basketball Uniforms Through the Years

KU women’s basketball has had a varying history when it comes to its uniforms. Traditionally, the women sported uniforms with block lettering while the men’s program went with the circus font. This is just one of many aesthetic differences that appear between the two programs.

The Early Years

From the late 1970’s into the 1980’s, Lynette Woodard was the face of the Jayhawks, and the uniforms mimicked the styles of the time- short shorts and simple fonts. Even greater still was the use of the word Jayhawks on the home uniforms. This can be seen from Woodard’s time through the Angela Aycock and Tamecka Dixon eras of the early to mid-1990’s.

As that decade wound down, KU kept the block font but switched to putting Kansas on the home jerseys. This can be seen prominently in the Lynn Pride years at Kansas. The block font was a fixture for the women’s program until the new university wide mandate to use Trajan font was implemented in 2007.

Here is a closer look at the uniforms that the women’s team has worn since 2004:

2004-2007

These were the last of the block lettering for the Kansas women’s program and it was a fine set to go out on. The side paneling is solid, perhaps the best that the program has worn. The home whites feature a thick red stripe outlined in blue and the road set features a thick white set outlined in red. Near the bottom of the shorts, the outside parts, forms a semi-circle, and houses the interconnected KU logo. It’s a great piece of design.

2007-2010

Quite a bit to like about this set from the women’s basketball team. First of all, this is the first set that featured the Trajan font that the university switched to in 2007. It makes the women’s uniform look more streamlined in comparison to the old block lettering. The stripes down the side of the uniform are good looking, but the trim around the neck and arms is where this uniform suffers. It’s just a bit too wide and clumsy for me. This is also the last time when the women had their names in the proper place on the back. Otherwise, a solid effort.

2010-2013

These uniforms are sharp, one of the best-looking women’s uniforms in KU history. The side striping is excellent, and the KU logo is where it belongs- on the bottom of the shorts on the left side. It’s a clean look that is only marred by the name under the number on the back.

2013-Present

The current uniforms are pretty similar to the set that the men’s team wore last season. They have the oddly colored shoulders on both the home and road sets. They also feature the odd stripes and pattern on the shorts and the Jayhawk on the hip. While I didn’t really like them on the men’s side, I think they look pretty good on the women. The fact that KU kept the names under the number on the back makes this set seem cohesive. If you have weird elements everywhere, sometimes they just work well together.

Also of note is the fact that KU has worn red alternates (just like the men’s side) as well as surprisingly good looking pink uniforms in conjunction with breast cancer awareness.