CBS calls NC State’s 2015 Iron Wolf unis their ‘worst look this century’

As you know, we cover all aspects of NC State sports. It’s not just about the players and the games, it’s also about the marketing department and the creative teams working behind the scenes to get people excited about Wolfpack sports.

Recently we’ve done pieces that broke down the upward trend of NC State’s marketing department and their 3rd ranked ‘creative team.’ We even run a weekly ‘Uni Watch’ column where we share and comment on the Pack’s gameday threads. Most of it is the good stuff, and that’s partially because these groups haven’t been missing with their campaigns and their design.

However, no one is perfect.

Today, CBS Sports ran a pretty interesting piece that went back and looked at the ugliest look worn by each Power Five team since 2000.

Obviously, NC State was included, and their pick was actually one we’ll have to agree with.

They chose the “Iron Wolf” jerseys from the 2015 game against Syracuse.

NC State’s #IronWolf Adidas Uniforms They Wore Against Syrause On 11/21.
These Are 🔥🔥🔥.@PhilHecken#Wolfpack pic.twitter.com/cSfwx1zB4A

— *fire emoji (@TJLSports_) November 25, 2015

Here is what they had to say about them…

I’ve never been a huge fan of the gray-crazy trend that has swept college football over the past decade or so. I like it even less when you’ve got a great color scheme like NC State, and when the primary color in that scheme (red) is relegated to an accent in this crazy set.

Now, first off, I’ll disagree a bit with the author on the gray trend. The gray on gray unis that were everywhere that season were cool at the time, but it has to be paired with a bright accent color. The grey NC State had on that day just wasn’t right and shouldn’t have been paired with their red.

Of course, the NC State red was designed to pair with white, but it also works decently against black (when outlined in white). The darkness of the black brings out the brightness of the red. However, when it goes against a gray, as we see above, the red just falls away. But, then again, some of the best black jerseys downplayed the red altogether and used it sparingly.

See how well it worked here?

Black Howl

10.5.17

🐺🐺🏈 pic.twitter.com/bnPZU7CAxt

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) June 7, 2017

Anyways, it’s not like the Iron Wolf jerseys were even THAT bad. I mean, at least we aren’t’ Maryland.

Those “Maryland Pride” uniforms have really made a difference. https://t.co/KfzKRhLKPP

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) August 11, 2018

via GIPHY