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Michigan reveals new Jumpman uniforms for 2016

nick bromberg
Michigan's home jersey (Nike/Michigan athletics)
Michigan’s home jersey (Nike/Michigan athletics)

Michigan’s uniforms have officially been released.

The school now has an apparel agreement with Nike’s Jumpman brand. Michigan’s deal with Adidas expired at the end of July and revealed Tuesday what its football jerseys will look like.

Michigan's 2016 away jersey (Nike/Michigan athletics)
Michigan’s 2016 away jersey (Nike/Michigan athletics)

This is the description of the apparel deal from the reveal. It’s laid on pretty thick.

The Jordan Brand and the University of Michigan uphold a long-standing standard of earned excellence — no shortcuts, no gimmicks. Through hard work and unwavering fortitude, the two institutions have become globally recognized icons of success.

The partnership fuses the determined grit of Michigan with the groundbreaking innovation of Jordan Brand, resulting in an unprecedented bond of greatness.

Given that it’s Michigan, the uniforms weren’t going to be a stark departure from the traditional Wolverine uniforms.

So the biggest change may be a different styling for the No. 4. According to Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett, it’s taken from Michigan’s uniforms from the 1930s and is a tribute to the school’s diversity.

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In 1934, Michigan played Georgia Tech without Willis Ward, the second black player to play football at Michigan. Ward missed the game because Georgia Tech refused to play if he played. Former President Gerald Ford was on the team and, per the Detroit News, threatened to quit because of the incident before Ward convinced him to stay.

Ford wore No. 48. From the News:

“When I looked at it, I go, ‘Gerald’s hat is pointing to Willis, and this is the man he quit the team for,’” Hackett told The Detroit News. “Jim’s (Harbaugh) has put the championship team pictures back up, and I was looking back in time, and there’s no black people. And Gerald Ford’s year, we still didn’t do a great job of integrating.

“I started looking at the more modern photos like in the ’70s, and you see Bo (Schembechler) was with it. Bo kind of broke the color barrier at Michigan.”

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!