Illinois unveiled the uniforms and helmets that will be worn on Oct. 19 when the Illini host defending national champion Michigan at Memorial Stadium.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

August 8, 2024

Photo courtesy of Illinois Athletics

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The throwback helmets and uniforms to be worn in dedication to the memory of Red Grange’s historic performance nearly 100 years to the day of his most historic performance have been revealed.

The university athletics department revealed the 1920s-themed uniforms to commemorate the 100th anniversary of that game, with the helmets, jerseys, and pants all designed to mirror the attire worn by Grange and the Illini football teams that participated in Grange’s historic six-touchdown performance against Michigan in 1924.

Illinois will wear these uniforms and helmets when it hosts defending national champion Michigan on Oct. 19 in a re-dedication game at Memorial Stadium.

“The program has done some throwbacks in the past, but it was really important to be more accurate to the time the stadium opened,” Jake Rosch, director of football equipment operations, said in a university media release. “We kicked around some ideas, but we ultimately settled on recreating Red Grange's uniform from 1924.”

The jerseys feature a blue base with tannish-gold stripes that form a pyramid shape and run from the bottom of the shirt to the top of the numbers. White numbers with blue outlines complete the jersey, with the only orange features coming in the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary patch that will be worn on all of the Illini’s uniforms throughout the season. The tannish-gold hue seen in the stripes will be reflected in the color of the custom pants and will be paired with blue socks to complete the classic look.

Photo courtesy of Illinois Athletics

“The jerseys are pretty simplistic,” Rosch stated. “It was designed 100 years ago, so they were limited in their manufacturing capabilities at that time. We were able to match the jersey design, which is really cool because we wanted to be as historically accurate from 100 years ago as we could possibly make it.”

Each helmet worn by an Illini player in this Oct. 19 game was hand-painted by Armando Villarreal, the owner of an airbrushing company in southern Nebraska.

“On the helmet, there are straps that go over the top and form a sun pattern, but the only way to accomplish that was for it to be hand-painted,” Rosch stated. “For each individual piece of leather that was on a leather helmet, we wanted it to be reflected on the shell of the helmet, so it looked like you were wearing that helmet. Armando has done a really great job and been a really good partner in this whole process.”

The university athletics department also announced they will be selling the game-worn hand-painted helmets specifically to ‘I FUND’ members and ‘Varsity I’ football donor club members, the general public will have the opportunity to purchase helmets beginning on Monday, Aug. 26, if supplies remain. However, only ‘I FUND’ members will be notified of their sales period in the coming weeks based on their giving level.

Illinois will honor Memorial Stadium in a number of ways in 2024, including special events, commemorative merchandise, season-ticket holder benefits, and in-game features. The logo honoring the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary was released in January and