Notre Dame’s uniforms are important, historic, and symbolic. This is especially true for the home blue uniforms that the program has worn for a majority of their games in South Bend. I am going to embark on a journey to rank the best home Notre Dame uniforms of all-time.

A few caveats that will be important to remember:

1) Blue Only

We are only looking at the standard blue home uniform. So, no alternate uniforms, no bowl game uniforms, and no green uniforms if they were the standard home set of the time. We’re not going to look at any road whites, either. As the first offering from Adidas in 2001 showcased, the road jersey can be very different and a lot more controversial than the home jersey.

2) Modern Era Only

We are starting from the point when the modern football helmet, and thus the modern football uniform, came into being and provided us with the template players still wear today. Specifically for the Irish we are starting in the late 1960’s when color photographs provide a clear picture of the uniform.

3) A Select Few Out

Due to no green we are not including the home uniform from 1977 through 1980. Also, since there are precious few quality photos in existence we are not including the 1959 through 1963 uniforms.

Therefore, we will include the following 15 blue uniform sets:

Late 60’s
Early 70’s
Early 80’s
Late 80’s
1992-93
1994-97
1998-2000
2001-03
2004-09
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014-15
2016-20

So, how will we go about ranking each of these uniforms? I’ve come up with a standardized scoring system:

Tradition (max 3 points) – How closely or not does the uniform stick to Notre Dame’s traditional navy blue jersey, gold helmet, and gold pants?

Style (max 2 points) – How well does the uniform incorporate modern styling?

Success (max 1 point) – Since so many people identify with uniforms based on how well the Irish played in them we will include this begrudgingly.

Total Package (max 3 points) – Our personal taste included with how we feel the whole uniform looks after judging all factors together in one package.

We’ll publish Part I of III soon, but until then we have questions for our readers:

1) You have one more opportunity to buy a Notre Dame jersey for the rest of your life. Which number do you choose?

2) Notre Dame uniforms are generally talked about in positive ways, but what is something you don’t like about them?

3) If you could make one change to the home uniform what would it be?