Yale Athletics

The Yale football team (2–1, 1–0 Ivy) will break from tradition and wear alternate jerseys for its matchup against Dartmouth (1–2, 0–1 Ivy) at the Yale Bowl. 

The uniforms — to be worn at the Saturday afternoon game — commemorate 150 years of Yale football, and are modeled off of ones which Walter Camp wore while playing at the University. Camp, class of 1880, is considered by many to be the father of American football. 

“I really like them,” defensive lineman Adam Raine ’23 said. “I think it’s a good idea. Most alternates you get, they kinda go more modern … I think we’re a very historical team, maybe the most historically important team, so I really like how they threw it back. It was a great idea.”

The new kits feature a cream-colored jersey with Camp’s rules of football written within the navy numbers. The middle of the jersey also mimics the stitching of old jerseys, with fake blue lacing crisscrossing up the chest.

The team will also be wearing new helmets that feature a slick matte blue finish for the first time in living memory, as opposed to the shiny white lids the team typically wears.

“The grit of Yale football… is one of the reasons that I came here,” offensive lineman Cubby Schuller ’23 said. “So the fact that we get an alternate jersey which has a purpose, that has a meaning, is really impactful in honor of what Yale football really is.”

For the helmets, the details are where the design really stands out. Within each “Y” on either side of the helmet is the silhouette of the Heisman Trophy, representing the two Heisman winners in Yale’s history. Larry Kelley ’37 and Clint Frank ’38 brought home the award in consecutive years.

The twin stripes on the helmet also feature the last name of every captain in Yale football history since the program began. 

“What makes us us is we’ve been playing football for 150 years, so there’s a lot of tradition,” head coach Tony Reno said. “To me it celebrates the history and tradition of Yale football without giving up any of the things that make us who we are.”

The Bulldogs will complete the look with their normal Yale blue pants.

The Bulldogs played their first game in program history in 1872 against the Columbia Lions. The Elis emerged victorious from that game with a 3–0 win.