ND ArmourGrid FW18
12.20.2018

BADDEST UNIFORM FOR THE BIGGEST STAGE

Notre Dame Will Make Their College Football Playoff Debut in UA's ArmourGrid

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take the field at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas on December 29, reaching a milestone for the program and putting Under Armour innovation on its grandest stage ever. Notre Dame’s first College Football Playoff appearance also marks the first time that Under Armour will be represented in college football’s premier showcase, debuting their latest uniform design construction: ArmourGrid.

 

Three years ago, Under Armour’s design team decided to punt everything the sports world had come to expect from football uniform design and start from scratch. As the game had evolved, uniform design needed to move with it. For a long time, uniforms had been baggy and flowing, loose for the sake of air flow. Then, with the revolution of HeatGear®and ColdGear®, the entire industry moved toward stretch, incorporating body-hugging materials that molded to equipment. This remained the standard until the innovators at Under Armour decided to rethink the whole process. After countless conversations with coaches, equipment managers and players, they honed in on the modern athlete’s most essential needs:

 

Make it lightweight. Make it breathable. Make it indestructible. Make it unstoppable.

 

These insights led the innovation team to consider a material they had been working on since 2009 while looking to address challenges faced by rugby players. Recognizing similar demands between the sports, the team incorporated learnings from decades of experience to tailor this material specifically to football, ultimately creating the ArmourGrid jersey: a lightweight, durable top that provides three key material components around the body.

 

ArmourGrid

Proprietary ArmourGrid material forms the core of the jersey. Inspired by military-grade parachute construction that needs to be both lightweight and incredibly strong, ArmourGrid is comprised of a matrix created by high tensile-strength threads encapsulating lightweight material.

 

 The result is a slim silhouette that wraps the front panel, back panel and sleeves, where stretch is not needed. In fact, stretchy material in these areas make it easier for opposing players to grab a player and slow them down. The sleek new material helps the players remain elusive when they need it most, whether that’s in the trenches or evading would-be tacklers looking for even the smallest bit of material to hold onto.

 

Through a battery of tests, the innovation team determined that ArmourGrid is Under Armour’s lightest uniform material construction when fully saturated, as well as the fastest drying. Come rain, snow or sweat, ArmourGrid keeps athletes light on their feet.

 

"Players have told us that with ArmourGrid, hands just slide off the shoulders, back and waist like they've never experienced before. The material leaves defenders grasping at air, where otherwise they'd get a fistful of jersey."

Kyle Blakely, VP Materials Innovation

HeatGear® Four-way Stretch

While it has been proven that reducing bagginess and stretch gives players an advantage, some give is still important in key areas. Under Armour added a HeatGear® four-way stretch material on the side panels to allow for full mobility in the most crucial game situations; on the run, diving for the end zone or making a game-saving deflection in the secondary. 

 

HeatGear®, a lightweight material with superior moisture wicking technology, also fits around shoulder pads so the entire jersey sits ultra-flat, without a millimeter of extra material. The HeatGear® used in football uniforms has been modified from the consumer-grade version, specially engineered with a high level of modulus to keep the ArmourGrid in place.

 

HeatGear® Mesh

Added below the front and back ArmourGrid panels, a modified HeatGear® mesh material provides the ventilation athletes need in a way that only UA’s HeatGear® technology can deliver.

 

The combination of these elements in the ideal design construction has made the ArmourGrid jersey the preeminent uniform addition. In addition to giving the Fighting Irish a leg up on the competition, ArmourGrid is being worn by a number of college programs throughout this Bowl season:

 

  • University of Hawaii at the Hawai’i Bowl (Dec 22)
  • Boston College at the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dec 26)
  • University of California at the Cheez-It Bowl (Dec 26)
  • Temple University at the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl (Dec 27)
  • University of Wisconsin at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Dec 27)
  • Auburn University at the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Dec 28)
  • University of South Carolina at the Belk Bowl (Dec 29)
  • University of Cincinnati at the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman (Dec 31)
  • Northwestern University and the University of Utah at the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl (Dec 31)