By MARK BROWN
The school colors of BYU are not changing to navy and gold.
As reported in The Daily Universe, the colors of some of the athletic uniforms will be changing. The royal blue and white to which BYU students, faculty and fans are accustomed, will remain as the school's official colors.
The changes in the uniforms are not something new. 'BYU's uniforms have had a variety of shades,' said Rondo Fehlberg, BYU's athletic director. 'When I was an athlete here in the late 1960s our uniforms were navy blue. We sort of standardized with the royal blue just in the last couple of decades. This is not an uncommon thing.'
The uniforms of the various athletic teams do not necessarily reflect the school colors. Although BYU has used royal blue predominately over the past two decades, the shades of the uniforms have frequently changed. In addition, the BYU Bookstore and other retail outlets use different color schemes in their merchandise without regulation.
'To give an example, I was at the Final Four last year when Kentucky was playing. The entire Kentucky side of the arena was swathed in royal blue. The team on the floor was wearing slate blue. Either the fans didn't realize it, or it just wasn't a big deal,' Fehlberg said.
The deeper shade of blue and the gold accent that will adorn the football team next year is nothing new. 'BYU has tried black, gray, silver and gold as accents. This makes the uniforms fun and interesting for the teams. They have nothing to do with school colors,' Fehlberg said.
Fehlberg indicated that navy blue is not the traditional color of BYU, but it has been used in the past. 'The older folks remember the darker color. It wasn't even close to navy. BYU blue was just a deeper shade.'
'Alumni, students, faculty and fans can be reassured that BYU's official colors remain royal blue and white,' said R.J. Snow, BYU's advancement vice-president.