Yes it is.

Peace

I totally agree. I hated the knickers and was glad to have just about anything to replace them. And most of all I hated what you had to do with the darn socks.

Peace

I just bought a new pair, rather then trying to darn them.

Yep, just threw my old football socks in the garbage.

That's funny.

I'm glad someone took the lead in some variation of the 2" stripped shirt. I also like the "built in" logos, if they must be worn.

Alabama is going to something very similar for next year, too. The Super 6 was a test run for the new shirts, and word is that those shirts or something very similar will be used for both football and basketball starting next year.

Alabama approved are available at PO for $43. Not sure I dig that look or not.

Purchase Officials Supplies - Alabama Logo Dye Sublimated Football Shirt

Reviving an old thread to a degree but WIAA (Wisconsin) approved the wide stripes this year.


"Below are the football mechanic changes including the new shirt in football which we will allow provided all on the crew are wearing:


1. The Five-Game Officials kickoff coverage positions have a major shift and additional responsibilities to cover new rules.

2. The signal for Targeting will be the current signal 24.

3. Announcing the number of the offending player is now allowed (not required) when the referee is using a microphone.

4. By state association adoption, game officials may wear a black and white vertically striped, long or short sleeved knit shirt with a maximum of 2 1/4-inch stripes, with a black knit cuff and Byron collar."

Interested to see what Rich and a few of my fellow Wisco partners think of the move on the stripes. I know the KO mechanics going back to the way they were is a welcome relief...that was horrendous IMO.

Our crew has already bought them. Will debut them on August 22.

Why is a gold trim flag standard? I thought a white trim was standard unless one was a veteran and thus entitled to a gold trim flag. Is this a big deal? Not really. But still...

The manual states that the maximum width is 2 1/4-inch stripes. If you want to get away from the 1-inch stripes, why not just go to a 2-inch style like the NCAA CFO? Is this a competition to see who can have the wider stripes? (Bet mine are bigger than yours. :D)

I personally don't have a problem with the 1-inch stripes. I don't mind being differentiated from collegiate football officials. But if you're going to make a chance at the HS level, why not just go up to the 2-inch stripe for consistency.

As for the black side panels, black shoulders/sleeves, and tapered stripe designs -- I personally don't care for them. Leave that for the NFL, that's just my opinion, FWIW.

I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the NCAA had placed a trademark (or copyright, or whatever) on the 2-inch stripe design that they use for the officials shirts, specifically so that they COULDN'T be used at the other levels.

It's entirely possible, however, that I'm remembering that incorrectly.

Both Gerry Davis and Purchase Officials (and countless others) carry the Smitty brand. One calls the same shirt 2" and the other shows the same exact shirt at 2-1/4". My guess is they're one in the same and a typo by some kid in the mail room revising the company web page. You could be dead on though on the trademark, but I don't know how one could or would regulate that.

I assume it's similar to how the striped black pants were listed when they came out of the gate. Some suppliers said 1-1/4" wide stripe and some showed 1" and I think I saw one that showed it as 1-1/2".

That's possible...

I don't have my new HS shirt yet (my white-hat has them, we ordered them all together as a crew to save the shipping costs)... when I get it, i'll compare it to my NCAA shirt and report back.

I stand corrected....shocking. They offer 2" and 2-1/4" - probably right on the head, JTheUmp. Maybe the "infringement" period lapsed.

Shirts - all - Purchase Officials Supplies

•NCAA Approved, and now approved for high school in many states including Arkansas.