Under coach Mark Dantonio, the Michigan State football team has become known for discipline and a courage through teamwork and unity. Starting the 2015 season, the Spartans will wear new uniforms that feature fresh, updated aesthetics symbolic of MSU’s commitment to operating as a single unit, drawing design cues from the legendary warriors of Sparta in the process.
Michigan State’s “Greek key” pattern is central to the uniform update, as the print is incorporated into the jersey-sleeves and pant-legs, embodying the strength and power that lie in unity, and reconciling the team with its legendary namesakes. The Spartans will wear a green jersey at home, offset by white nameplates and numbers, while the away jersey inverts the colors, boasting a white jersey with scripts. The team has solid-white and solid-green pants, as well as an alternate white pair with inset green detailing.
An alternate jersey features a deep green look as well, but forgoes the “Michigan State” script on the chest and plays up bronze embellishing on the number-outlines and sleeve-caps. That color serves to sharply contrast, and pays homage to Spartan shields. Meanwhile, every jersey features the Greek phrase “molon labe” inside the back-collar. Translated as “Come and get them,” the battle cry was uttered by the famed King Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, and has gained immortality throughout the centuries.
Finally, the Spartan logo is prominently emblazoned onto each helmet, including a striking bronze lid that further updates MSU’s traditional green-and-white.
