Arizona State Unveils ‘Brotherhood’ Uniforms That Honor Pat Tillman, Active Military And Vets

The Arizona State Sun Devils unveiled their special-edition “Brotherhood” uniforms that honor the late Pat Tillman, as well as active military members and veterans. The Sun Devils Athletic Department collaborated with the Pat Tillman Foundation and Adidas to design the jerseys. Arizona State players will wear the special uniforms on Nov. 4 when they play the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium. The Nov. 4 game is part of Arizona State University’s Salute to Service initiative, which is an annual campus-wide celebration to “honor America’s men and women in uniform, past and present, and their families” held the week before Veterans Day.

The description and inspiration for the design of the special-edition uniforms from Adidas:

Inspired by Tillman’s legacy, the special edition “Brotherhood” uniforms are centered around the tan colors of Army fatigues and accented with the Sun Devils’ iconic maroon and gold colors. Building off the theme of previous uniforms, Adidas designers worked in tandem with ASU to research the typography and sizes of the wordmark and numbers from the Tillman era in order to recreate the look that the 1996-1997 team wore during their Rose Bowl season.

The phrase “Give ‘em Hell” is embroidered on the side of the jerseys as well as inside of the neck liner so players can read the inspirational words as they put their uniforms on. The line is from the ASU fight song and also what Tillman told his teammates prior to defeating defending National Champion Nebraska 19-0 in 1996. Tillman’s PT-42 logo is seen on the chest and left sleeve of the jersey as well as inside of the Adizero 5-Star cleats and Adizero 5-Star gloves. There is an American flag featured on the right sleeve. The word “Brotherhood” is on the back of the helmet with the names of any ASU player or coach, past or present, who has served or is serving in the U.S. military.

Tillman is one of the most celebrated Arizona State University alumni in the school’s history. In August, the university unveiled a new 6-foot-tall, 400-pound bronze statue of Tillman in Sun Devil Stadium to honor one of the greatest Sun Devils. Tillman played at Arizona State from 1994-1997 and then went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals. Pat was a defensive back for the Cardinals until he walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract to enlist in the Army following the September 11th attacks. Tillman joined the Army Rangers and served several tours in combat before he died in the mountains of Afghanistan. Tillman was only 27-years-old when he died in 2004.

The university will sell the jersey and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Pat Tillman Foundation, which “invests in military veterans and their spouses through academic scholarships – building a diverse community of leaders committed to service to others.”

[SBN]