By RUSS RIGGS
russ@newsroom.byu.edu
The Cougar football team will have to be much more careful next time they sit down to eat a slab of barbecue ribs - the 'bibs' are gone.
That's right. The white front on the home football jerseys, affectionately know as 'bibs,' has been done away with.
BYU abandoned its traditional royal blue uniforms last summer when it consulted with Nike and went for a more hip dark blue and tan.
Now, it is out with the new and in with the new.
According to BYU athletic director Val Hale, the NCAA Football Rules Committee passed a new rule in February that prohibits any white on home jerseys except for the numbers and sleeves.
BYU will be forced to go with a solid blue for home games - an answer to many fans' prayers.
'I anticipated this would happen,' Hale said.
'But it allows us to get away from being the leaders in fashion and get back to the tradition of BYU.'
Jeff White, a sophomore majoring in communications and a life long Cougar fan, said he and everyone he knows is ecstatic about the change.
'I liked their old uniforms a lot better, but if they have to have the new ones it's best if they take the bib off,' he said.
Fans are not the only ones who are happy with the change. A few of the players have voiced their opinions against the bibs as well.
'I'm glad their gone,' fullback Ned Stearns said.
'It doesn't look like we're sitting at a high chair anymore. But I would play with any colors they give me and wear them with pride.'
Linebacker Justin Ena echoed Stearns's comments.
'We didn't mind them but we'll proudly comply with the NCAA,' he said in a news release.
'If the NCAA is breathing down our necks, why fight it? Nobody's petitioning to bring them back.'
Opposing teams such as Washington and Virginia's quarterback Dan Ellis also voiced their opinion, saying the white in BYU's jerseys caused confusion.
Apparently, opposing quarterbacks could not tell the difference between their receivers and the Cougar's secondary.
'I liked the uniforms we had last year, but we got a lot of complaints from opposing teams,' fullback Kilani Sitake said.
'But it's a cop out. If you can't tell the difference between your jersey and someone else's, I don't know what's wrong with you.'
Hopefully, the Cougars can now focus on what they do best - playing football -- and not dodging criticism from opposing fans.