I noticed in the Pac 10 tournament that the crews were wearing the gray NBA style shirts.

They look sharp and I am wondering if this is going to be the next style change for basketball officials?

Peach Belt officials are also wearing these. I like them, but I don't want to be forced to spend the bucks to buy them.

Interesting...I don't remember seeing those shirts during the regular season games...wonder why they are using them now??

Here's my take:

Suppose that "many years ago" the official uniform had become the gray shirt. THen, the NBA started to wear B&W stripes. Then, a few college officials started to wear B&W stripes.

I'd guess that many amateur officials would be saying how "sharp" the B&W stripes looked and wondering if we could change to the "cool new look."

Hey, I have a neon green blazer with tails from an era gone by. I think I'll try it over my stripes next year. If you start seeing refs wearing neon green, remember you saw it here first! :)

BTW, how much are those grey shirts? I might as well start saving my pennies now becuase I think the v-neck is going to go the way of the dodo.

I have never seen these shirts in any of the regular equipment sites Honigs, Lesters, etc... I suspect that they are being promoted by one of the major shirt manufactures and given on a try basis to these conferences.

Start saving your pennies!

they're hideous
 

I've been at the Pac-10 tourney, covering it for my school's tv station-so I've been close enough to see how bad they look on these guys. The heavier guys look terrible in them-I'm not sure if it's because of the cut, or because the "pinstripes" don't exactly flatter the middle region of the male body!

Definitely not a fan-they should've done a solid grey if they wanted a change.

The Peach Belt, Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley Conference and several other conferences in the southeast wear these. I am personally in those leagues and love the gray shirts. I do agree, the gray does not look good on heavier set individuals. But I really like the gray. I hope it becomes the standard. After wearing the gray I don't enjoy wearing the old stripes and would gladly trade my stripes in for a few more gray shirts.

Grey Shirts
 

In Alberta we wear 2 different styles of shirts depending on the level of ball we do. We in fact have a "grey" shirt that is worn for high school and below. For college and University we'll wear the stripes. Personally I like the stripes; I find the material allows you to stay cooler when you are on the floor.

check out the link to see a couple of pictures of the shirt...



http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ripian/photo.htm

I first saw the shirts in the Duke vs. Davidson game on ESPN in early January. The Officials choice is the only place I have seen them for sale.

http://www.theofficialschoiceinc.com

Ian,

I'd just be happy if they allowed us to wear shorts when we ref.

Noticed from the pics that it seems to be permitted in your Alberta association. It does appear that the games are being held outdoors though so I guess that has some bearing.

Ren