The "By The Players" program is an annual program that allowed a select group of players on a Basketball Team an opportunity to work in collaboration with Under Armour to design unique alternates uniforms that represented their class or group.
Each Summer, our product line managers and I met with 4-5 players (often prospective Seniors) in a special meeting & discovery talk to put together a uniform that not only made a statement, but was signature & authentic to their specific program. From 2020-2023, the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball Team was a part of this program and I had the pleasure to lead this charge from collaborative ideation to final product for those 4 seasons.
The "Unity x Go Dark" Uniform, marked the 3rd edition of the annual "By the Players" uniform for the 2022-23 season.
For this season's design, players within the Wisconsin men's basketball program worked to create the look in representation of diversity & inclusion. During the summer of 2020, current and former Badger student-athletes publicly stated their desire to wear the university's "Crest W" on their athletic uniforms. The "W" in the crest is white, but was changed to black on UW athletic uniforms during the 2020-21 season in a showing of solidarity with the Black community and other underrepresented communities on campus, during the tumultuous season.
This charge for Unity, Equality & Solidarity at Wisconsin was championed amongst the Basketball and became the primary force behind the 2022-23 By The Players uniform. Paired with that story concept was the following:
- Black uniforms (a first in Wisconsin Athletics history)
- Black “W” University Crest aesthetic played throughout custom Wordmark & Number System (crest also featured on the back of the jersey & shooting shirt),
- Pinstripes: adorned in gold and made signature by including the words "EQUALITY, UNITY, WISCONSIN FORWARD" within the striping.
