Pitt football team unveils ice-white alternate uniforms

In 2020, Pitt donned steel-gray alternate uniforms for the first time, deviating from its traditional blue-and-gold color scheme, and it seems that trend will continue to some extent in the 2021 season, as the team unveiled ice-white alternates on Wednesday night.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi teased the reveal on Twitter, saying, "Iced whites coming soon." Then, Pitt target Tyreese Fearbry, a four-star defensive end out of Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh, unveiled the uniform.

The uniforms are less intricate than the steel grays, which were intended to pay homage to Pittsburgh’s industrial roots. But the overall look is clean, even if it is only a slight variation on the team’s traditional away uniform.

Pitt’s new ice-white look features the usual white away jersey as well as the team’s trademark yellow helmet. Where the uniform departs from the norm is with the all-new white pants. It also appears there are matching white shoes, white socks and white gloves, and the shoes and gloves have blue accents.

Given the simple design, the new alternates should be less controversial than the steel-gray uniforms, which displeased many of Pitt’s more traditional fans but proved to be a hit with recruits and team members. And given that the model for the new alternates was Fearbry, it seems the ice whites may already be popular among the team’s top recruiting targets.

At this point, Pitt has six versions of its uniform, including the traditional blue-and-gold home look, the traditional away look, an all-blue look, a white-jersey-and-blue-pants combo, the steel-gray look and the ice-white look. With that said, it is unclear if Pitt plans to keep all six versions in its rotation in 2021.

The Panthers previously had all-white uniforms they wore before the team’s brand change and color switch in 2019. The look served them well, as they donned the whites in Death Valley for their 43-42 victory over Clemson in 2016.