Southern Miss Football Uniforms (2003-2022)

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2022

In 2022, as Southern Miss reached a bowl game for the first time since 2019, the Golden Eagles kept the same uniform set they debuted in Will Hall's first season in 2021.

Though the jerseys and pants remained the same, the helmet designs were updated to feature new, more traditional striping, with gold and white stripes on the black helmets and black and gold stripes on the white helmets.

The Golden Eagles wore a unique combination in each of the 12 regular season games, completing such a feat for the second time ever (with the first being 2017). Unlike 2017, each of the 12 combinations also featured a unique color combination, making 2022 USM's most unique uniform season ever. All 6 possible combinations involving the white jerseys were worn, including White/White/Gold, which was the lone white jersey look not worn in 2021.

USM's only repeat combination of 2022 was All-Black, which was worn in both the regular season win over Louisiana and the LendingTree Bowl win over Rice. With the LendingTree Bowl, win the Golden Eagles successfully finished the season with a winning record at 7-6.

USM Uni Combos (12) in 2022:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold

Black/Black/White

White/Black/Black

White/Black/White

Black/White/Black

Black/White/Gold
Black/White/White

White/White/Black

White/White/Gold

White/White/White

Black/Gold/Gold

2021

In Will Hall's first season as head coach, Southern Miss debuted a brand new uniform set featuring black, white, and gold jerseys and pants with a consistent double stripe pattern. Along with the classic 2003 black helmet design, the Golden Eagles wore white helmets for the first time in program history.

The new uniform set included black jerseys with white numbers and white jerseys with black numbers (no outline) for the first time since 2014. The gold jerseys featured white numbers with no outline for the first time ever. On each jersey, the "Southern Miss" wordmark was a contrasting color to the number (gold on black, gold on white, black on gold).

With two helmets, three jerseys, and three pants, the Golden Eagles' new uniform set contained 18 possible combinations. In their 12 games in 2021, USM wore 11 of those 18 possible combinations. Black/White/Black was the only combination to be worn more than once. White/White/Gold was the only white jersey combination *not* to be worn (which is slightly disappointing, since I think that the Chargers-eqsue look has the potential to be one of USM's best).

The three combinations to be worn in wins were Black/Black/Gold, Black/White/White, and Black/Gold/Gold. The Golden Eagles won a game in each of their three jerseys; all three wins came in the black helmets. The white helmets and black pants were the two uniform elements to remain winless on the season.

USM Uni Combos (11) in 2021:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold

Black/Black/White

White/Black/White
Black/White/Black

Black/White/Gold
Black/White/White

White/White/Black

White/White/White
Black/Gold/Gold
White/Gold/White

2020

Southern Miss had a somewhat more traditional uniform lineup in 2020. Only four different helmet designs were worn; the "traditional" 2003 design was worn in 6 of the 10 games. For the first time since 2008, exclusively stripe-less, single color pants were worn. With the exception of the first game of the season, more traditional black jerseys with gold numbers were worn. Overall, despite all of the off-the-field turbulence, it was a solid uniform season for the Golden Eagles.

In the first three games of the 2020 season, Southern Miss wore three different dark colored jerseys, all of which are essentially black (one is technically heathered gray). The first was the black jersey with gray numbers that has now been worn in three consecutive seasons, the second was the heathered gray jersey that was first worn against Western Kentucky in 2019, and the third was the black jersey with gold numbers that was worn in the first two games of the 2018 season, and had not seen the field since.

Even though the game didn't go their way, I just want to say that, for my two cents, the combination worn against Tulane and UTSA is exactly what Southern Miss should look like. Absolute perfection. Uni Watch agrees, as they ranked USM vs Tulane as #2 uniform matchup of the week. Looking back, it was the first time since **2008** that Southern Miss had paired black jerseys with athletic gold numbers and athletic gold pants. Let's not make it a 12-year drought this time.

In their first win of 2020, a 41-31 victory at North Texas, Southern Miss debuted new white uniforms on Adidas's newest Primeknit A1 template; the updated road uniforms feature basically the exact same design as the ones worn in 2018 and 2019, just with a different texture and the Adidas logo moved from under the collar to the left chest. New solid white pants were also worn in the win, marking the first time since 2018 that the Golden Eagles had worn white pants.

In the season finale, the Golden Eagles defeated FAU wearing gold jerseys paired with black pants. It was the first time since the 2017 Independence Bowl that the Black/Gold/Black combination had been worn, and only the second time that gold jerseys had been worn in the Adidas era.

USM Color Combos (7) in 2020:

Black/Black/Gold
Black/Black/Black

Black/White/Black

Black/White/White

Black/Gold/Black

Black/DarkGray/DarkGray

Black/DarkGray/White

USM Total Uni Combos (8) in 2020:

Helmet1/Black1/Black
Helmet2/DarkGray/DarkGray

Helmet3/Black2/Gold

Helmet3/White/White

Helmet3/Black2/Black

Helmet4/DarkGray/White

Helmet4/White/Black

Helmet3/Gold/Black

Helmet1: Shiny Black with black and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides. Same as 15-16.
Helmet2: Shiny Black with a white "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, White Stripe.
Helmet3: Shiny Black with white and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, tapered Gold ________Stripe. Same as 2003-2014.

Helmet4: Military Appreciation. Shiny Black with an American Flag eagle decal, No Stripe.

2019

In the 2019 season opener, Southern Miss wore their gold Adidas jerseys for the first time ever, paring them with new stripe-less gold pants. Later, in the final home game of the season, they wore new heathered gray uniforms with white accents, which were the first uniforms in school history to not feature any gold. Southern Miss did not wear white pants in 2019; it was the first season since 2015 and only the second season since 2005 in which white pants were not worn.

USM Color Combos (6) in 2019:

Black/Black/Gold
Black/Black/Black
Black/White/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/Gold/Gold
Black/DarkGray/DarkGray

USM Total Uni Combos (12) in 2019:

Helmet1/Gold/Gold1
Helmet1/White/Gold2

Helmet2/White/Black
Helmet2/White/Gold2

Helmet3/Black/Black
Helmet3/Black/Gold2
Helmet3/White/Black
Helmet3/White/Gold2

Helmet4/Black/Black
Helmet4/White/Gold2
Helmet4/White/Black

Helmet5/DarkGray/DarkGray

Helmet1: The design worn from 1977-1980 (with an accurate double stripe)
Helmet2: Shiny Black with white and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, tapered Gold ________Stripe. Same as 2003-2014.
Helmet3: Shiny Black with black and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides. Same as 15-16.

Helmet4: Military Appreciation. Shiny Black with an American Flag eagle decal, No Stripe.
Helmet5: Shiny Black with a white "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, White Stripe.

2018

Southern Miss switched to Adidas in 2018, getting an updated uniform set including black, white, and gold jerseys and pants.

A full recap of the 2018 season can be found here: 2018 Southern Miss Football Uniforms Recap

USM Color Combos (5) in 2018:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/White
Black/White/Black
Black/White/Gold

USM Total Uni Combos (9) in 2018:

Helmet1/Black1/Black

Helmet2/Black2/Gold
Helmet2/White/White
Helmet2/White/Black

Helmet3/Black2/Gold
Helmet4/White/Gold
Helmet5/Black2/Gold

Helmet6/Black2/Black
Helmet6/White/Gold

Helmet1: Shiny Black with Eagle on the left side, number on the right side, No Stripe
Helmet2: Shiny Black with white and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, tapered Gold ________Stripe. Same as 2003-2014.
Helmet3: The design worn from 1977-1980 (with a single stripe instead of double)
Helmet4: Shiny Black with black and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides, Gold Stripe.
Helmet5: Military Appreciation. Shiny Black with an American Flag eagle decal, No Stripe.
Helmet6: Shiny Black with black and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides. Same as 15-16.

2017

In 2017, the Golden Eagles really got into the uniform mixing-and-matching, a far cry from 2015 when they had only one home look and one road look. A full recap of all of the changes made in 2017 can be found here: 2017 Southern Miss Football Uniforms Recap

USM Color Combos (8) in 2017:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/Black/OldGold
Black/White/White
Black/White/Black
Black/White/Gold
Black/Gold/Gold
Black/Gold/Black

USM Total Uni Combos (13) in 2017:

Helmet1/Black/Black

Helmet1/White/Black

Helmet1/Gold/Gold

Helmet2/White/Black
1997 Throwbacks (Helmet3/ 1997 Black/ OldGold)

Helmet4/White/White

Helmet5/Black/Black

Helmet6/Black/Gold

Helmet6/White/Gold

Helmet6/White/White

Helmet7/Black/Black

Helmet8/Gold/Black

Helmet8/White/Gold

Helmet1: Shiny Black with Eagle on Both Sides, No Stripe

Helmet2: Shiny Black with Eagle on the right side, number on the left side, No Stripe

Helmet3: The design worn from 1990-2002

Helmet4: Shiny Black with white and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides, Gold Stripe

Helmet5: The design worn from 1977-1980 (with a single stripe instead of double)

Helmet6: Shiny Black with black and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both sides. Same as 15-16.

Helmet7: Blackout. Shiny Black with a matte black eagle decal, No Stripe.

Helmet8: Shiny Black with white and gold "Southern Miss" wordmark on both side, tapered Gold ________Stripe. Same as 2003-2014.

2016

For the first 9 games of the 2016 season, the Golden Eagles stuck to the same two combos that they wore throughout the 2015 season.  However, late in the season, they introduced white pants.  A game later, the white pants returned alongside a new matte black helmet with a yellow stripe and white lettering.

USM Color Combos (3) in 2016:

Black/Black/Black

Black/White/Black

Black/White/White

USM Total Uni Combos (4) in 2016:

Black/Black/Black

Black/White/Black

Black/White/White

Matte/White/White

2015

In 2015, the Golden Eagles introduced a new set of uniforms.  The stripe and white letters were removed from the helmet.  The two tone pants were retired in favor of a single pair of plain black pants.  The jerseys utilized dark gray, gold, and black.  The black jerseys had dark gray numbers outlined in gold, with dark gray sleeve caps.  The white jerseys had black numbers outlined in gold with black sleeve caps.  USM kept to the same two home and road combos for the entire 2015 season.

USM Uni Combos (2) in 2015:

Black/Black/Black

Black/White/Black

2014

In 2014, the Golden Eagles kept the uniform combos simple, wearing only three all season: all black at home, all white (with the black helmet) at home, and black-gold-black for homecoming.  The gold helmet, despite an updated design being teased, was not worn. 

USM Uni Combos (3) in 2014:

Black/Black/Black

Black/White/White

Black/Gold/Black

2013

In 2013, Southern Miss started a new partnership with Russell Athletic to save money after firing Ellis Johnson.  Russell provided them with some horrendous new uniforms, including two-toned pants and jerseys with an extreme amount of piping. A gold alternate jersey was worn for the first time since 2009; it would've looked good if not for the black and gold digital camo on the sleeves. The gold helmet with a gray facemask from 2012 was worn again as a road alternate, with the design changed to mirror the black helmet.

USM Uni Combos (6) in 2013:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/White
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White
Gold/White/White
Black/Gold/Black

2012

In 2012, the Golden Eagles wore 1970 throwbacks to celebrate their football centennial. The throwbacks included gold helmets, white jerseys, and gold pants. They were worn three times; the gold helmets were worn twice more with the regular road jerseys. Decals featuring the American flag were worn on the black helmets against UTEP. 2012 was the last year with Nike for Southern Miss; they switched to Russell Athletic after the 0-12 season they suffered in 2012.

USM Color Combos (6) in 2012:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/White
Black/White/Black
Gold/White/White
Gold/White/Black
Gold/White/Gold

USM Total Uni Combos (7) in 2012:

Black/Black/Black
Black(American Flag Decal)/Black/Black
Black/Black/White
Black/White/Black
Gold/White/White
Gold/White/Black
1970 Throwbacks (Gold/White/Gold)

2011

In 2011, the Golden Eagles went all out with helmet experimentation, wearing 6 different designs on a new matte black helmet over the course of the season. The first three games, they wore a solid number on the right side, the regular "Southern Miss" helmet logo on the left side, and the same helmet stripe that had been worn since 2003. The next three games, they wore a number on the right side, a new feather logo on the left side, and a thick yellow stripe. The 7th-9th games, they wore a number on the right side with no logo on the left side and no stripe. The final three regular season games, they wore an inverted number on the right side, an inverted "Southern Miss" wordmark on the left side, and no stripe. In Conference USA championship game, they wore the design from the first three games, but with an altered stripe. In the Hawaii Bowl, they wore the right side and stripe designs as in the C-USA title game, but with the flying Eagle logo on the left side.

With all of the attention on the helmets, the Eagles didn't mix up the rest of the uniforms too much. They wore the same Nike uniforms that they had the previous two seasons; they wore white pants the first two games, gold pants in the third game, and then black pants in every other game for the rest of the season.

USM Color Combos (5) in 2011:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/Black/White
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White

USM Total Uni Combos (11) in 2011:

Helmet1/Black/White
Helmet1/White/White
Helmet1/Black/Gold

Helmet2/Black/Black
Helmet2/White/Black

Helmet3/Black/Black
Helmet3/White/Black

Helmet4/Black/Black
Helmet4/White/Black

Helmet5/White/Black
Helmet6/Black/Black

2010

In 2010, the second year of their final Nike uniform design, the Golden Eagles kept things simple, only wearing the black and white jerseys. They did mix and match the pants a good bit, reaching 5 combos.

USM Uni Combos (5) in 2010:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White

2009

In 2009, Southern Miss updated their Nike uniforms by adding some piping, making the chest wordmark smaller, and switching to white (instead of gold) numbers on the black jerseys. The helmet design stayed the same; there were Black, White, and Gold options of both jerseys and pants.

USM Uni Combos (7) in 2009:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/White
Black/White/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White
Black/Gold/Black
Black/Gold/White

2008

In Larry Fedora's first year as head coach, Southern Miss added gold jerseys for the first time since Brett Favre was quarterback (and even those were more of a mustard color than the bright yellow-gold worn in 2008). The gold jerseys were worn three times throughout the year, once with black pants and twice with gold pants.

USM Uni Combos (6) in 2008:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White
Black/Gold/Black
Black/Gold/Gold

2007

In Jeff Bower's final season as head coach, the Golden Eagles wore black pants in every road game, and split time between the black and gold pants at home. White pants were worn once, in the Papajohns.com bowl against Cincinnati.

USM Uni Combos (4) in 2007:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White

2006

In 2006, the Golden Eagles introduced white pants, wearing them 4 times on the road to create an all-white look. The four combinations from 2005 were all worn again, and the all white look brought the total number of combinations to 5.

USM Uni Combos (5) in 2006:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/White
Black/White/Gold

2005

In 2005, Southern Miss went back to wearing both pants on the road and at home, wearing the the same 4 combinations as in 2003.

USM Uni Combos (4) in 2005:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/Gold

2004

In 2004, the Golden Eagles kept it simple, only wearing the gold pants on the road and black pants at home. They wore the same two combinations all season, something they would not do again until 2015.

USM Uni Combos (2) in 2004:

Black/Black/Black
Black/White/Gold

2003

In 2003, Southern Miss rebranded their entire athletic department, standardizing their colors as black and a more yellow "athletic gold." The rebrand included a new Eagle head logo, an updated set of wordmarks, and of course new uniforms. The new Nike uniform set featured black jerseys with gold numbers and a large gold chest word mark, both outlined in white, as well as white jerseys with black numbers/wordmark outlined in gold. Pants were black and gold, both stripe-less and featuring the new Eagle logo on the hip. The helmet remained black, with a more modern stripe design and the updated wordmark.

USM Uni Combos (4) in 2003:

Black/Black/Black
Black/Black/Gold
Black/White/Black
Black/White/Gold

2019 Southern Miss Football Uniforms Recap

2019 was Southern Miss’s second season with Adidas; the Golden Eagles retained their primary uniforms from the 2018 season while also throwing in a couple of new looks.

Overview:
Southern Miss wore six different color combinations and 12 total combinations in 2019. The only combination to be worn more than once was the 2003 Helmet, White Jersey, and Black Pants combo, which was worn in back-to-back games against Alabama and Troy early in the season. Both of those marks were the highest since 2017, when the Golden Eagles wore 8 color combinations and 13 total combinations, never wearing the same thing twice.

The white jerseys were the most worn uniform element of 2019, totaling eight appearances. Their appearances were evenly split between gold and black pants, being worn with each four times.

Jerseys:
The white jerseys were retained from 2018, as were the black jerseys with gray numbers; the black jerseys with gold numbers, which were worn in the first two games of the 2018 season, were not.

Gold Adidas jerseys were shown off in the offseason prior to the 2018 season, but never saw the field. They were finally worn in the 2019 season-opening win over Alcorn State.

Additionally, a brand new heathered-gray alternate jersey, featuring white numbers and absolutely no gold, were worn in the final home game of the season against Western Kentucky. These were the first uniforms in school history to not feature any gold.

Pants:
The solid black pants were retained from 2018 and were the Golden Eagles’ most worn pants in 2019, totaling six appearances. The gold pants with a thick black stripe were also retained, being worn a total of five times in 2019.

Solid gold pants, matching the color of the gold jerseys, were worn in the season opener against Alcorn State. Heathered-gray pants were also worn as part of the alternate look against Western Kentucky.

White Adidas pants with a thick black stripe were worn once in 2018, but they did not see the field in 2019. As a result, 2019 was the first season since 2015 and only the second season since 2005 in which Southern Miss did not wear white pants.

Helmets:
Southern Miss has a pretty cool helmet rotation going on the last few years, where they’re constantly swapping out the decals on the shiny black helmets to re-create historical designs as well as create new ones.

The Golden Eagles wore three historical helmet designs in 2019. The design worn in the first two games, against Alcorn State and Mississippi State, was the one first worn from 1977 to 1980. The logo from that era had been worn on the helmets once a year the past two seasons, but this was the first since 1980 in which the entire accurate helmet design was worn, with double stripes down the middle of the helmet.

The second historical design is the one debuted in 2003, with “Southern Miss” on each side and a modern, tapered stripe design. This design was worn three times in 2019 and has been worn in 14 of the last 17 seasons, with the exceptions being 2011, 2015, and 2016.

The final historical design is the 2015 “ghost” helmet, which features a very simple design with no stripe and a black and gold “Southern Miss” logo on the sides. The design has now been worn each of the last five seasons; it was the Golden Eagles’ most worn helmet design in 2019 with four appearances. It’s the only helmet to be worn with all four combinations of the black/white jerseys and black/gold pants.

One additional helmet design debuted in 2018 was also brought back and worn multiple times in 2019: the American Flag Eagle decal helmet. Worn twice in early November 2018, the design was brought back and worn twice again in early November 2019, as well as, appropriately, the Armed Forces Bowl in January 2020.

The Golden Eagles did debut one brand-new helmet design in 2019. It featured a single white stripe and a solid white “Southern Miss” wordmark on either side. Devoid of all gold, it was paired with the heathered-gray alternate uniform worn against Western Kentucky.

Combinations:

The black jerseys were worn three times, in a different combination each time. They were worn once with the 2015 helmet and gold pants, once with the 2015 helmet and black pants, and once with the America helmet and black pants.

As mentioned earlier, the white jerseys were worn eight times in 2019, four times with the gold pants and four times with the black pants. Both were great looks for the Golden Eagles, though I have to say I slightly prefer the gold pants. The Black/White/Gold combo was worn with four different helmet designs: 1980, 2003, 2015, and America.

The Black/White/Black combination was also worn four times, though with only three different helmet designs: 2003 (twice), 2015, America.

The Golden Eagles wore two "alternate" monochrome combinations in 2019: All Gold and All Heathered-Gray. The All Gold look was worn with the 1980 helmet design while the All Heathered-Gray look had its own custom helmet design.

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Concept for 2020

Since switching to Adidas, Southern Miss has really upgraded its football uniforms from the Russell Athletic days. However, there are a few changes that they could make in 2020 that would give them an even better, more consistent look. They should be due for an upgrade to the Primeknit A1 template soon; the heathered-gray alternate uniforms are already on it. A potential template upgrade would give the Golden Eagles a chance to actually implement some of these changes.

The most obvious problem with the Golden Eagles’ uniform uniforms is the gray numbers on the black jerseys; in the first two games under Adidas last season, Southern Miss had black jerseys with gold numbers outlined in gold for the first time since 2008, and they looked incredible. Unfortunately, there was apparently a color-matching issue with the Adidas golds and the gold numbers did not match the gold pants. As a result, the gray numbers were re-introduced (USM had worn gray numbers on black jerseys the previous two seasons under Russell Athletic).

With a new template, hopefully Adidas and Southern Miss could sort out the color issue and bring back those beautiful gold numbers with matching gold pants.

The other major jersey change I would make is to replace the gray outline on the gold jerseys’ numbers/wordmark with a more traditional white outline. Doing so, in conjunction with the previously discussed change, would completely remove gray from the Golden Eagles’ primary uniforms and return them to three uniforms that feature a good balance of black, gold, and white for the first time since the Larry Fedora Era.

On the pants, I would just go with simple white, gold, and black pants designs that feature the Golden Eagle logo on the right hip and no stripes. I think this would be the most consistent look for the USM brand.

In the mockup, I used the 2003 helmets because they pretty much work with everything. However, I really like how they use the 1980 and 2015 designs, and would encourage them to continue doing so!