PANTHERS UNVEIL FOOTBALL UNIFORMS
By Ed Pierce // September 15, 2012
Stylish Nike Apparel Thrills Fans
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – A closely guarded secret was revealed before more than a thousand Florida Tech students at the Clemente Center on Friday afternoon and it proved to be yet another step in launching the Panthers new college football team.
An enthusiastic crowd on hand for a pep rally for Florida Tech’s roared its approval when Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart unveiled the Panthers new home and away uniforms in public for the very first time.
“The support you have shown us has been absolutely tremendous,” Englehart said. “So take a look at what we’ll be wearing.”
As modeled at the event by players from the team, Englehart said the uniforms are from Nike’s Enforcer line and took months to create and design.
He first brought a group of players on stage to introduce the school’s away uniforms. The away jersey has the colors white, crimson and gray with “Florida Tech” above the jersey number. The gray pants also have the FIT logo on the left hip, “Panthers” along the right leg and “Pride” on the back beltline.
Another group of players showed off the team’s home uniforms which are gray, crimson and black with the word “Panthers” above the jersey number. The black home pants have the FIT logo on the left hip, the word “Panthers” along the right pant leg and the word “Pride” on the back beltline.
Then more than 100 Panthers football players charged onto the Clemente Center floor from behind a curtain wearing the new uniforms to cap off the event.
Before Englehart revealed the uniforms, Florida Tech President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Anthony J. Catanese, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. T. Dwayne McCay and longtime Athletic Director Bill Jurgens spoke to the crowd.
“This is the beginning of an era that we’re all really going to enjoy,” Catanese said. “And you all will be a part of it.”
Jurgens, who has served as athletic director at Florida Tech since 1975, said creating the team has been the pinnacle of his career.
“It’s a very exciting time for us,” Jurgens said. “We can hardly wait to get into our first scrimmage.”
Englehart presented Catanese with a framed home jersey of uniform No. 1 and then gave McCay a framed home jersey of No. 11, which is the number he wore as a high school player.
Players said they got their first look at the uniforms when they reported for the team’s initial practices in August.
“These are really nice and a big step up from what we all wore in high school,” freshman running back Gary Holmes Jr. said. “The fabric stays cool and repels water when it rains. I really like them and getting to show them off today is a real source of pride for our team.”
Florida Tech players will be wearing the new uniforms during the Panthers first intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. tonight at Palm Bay High School.
