LOS ANGELES — UCLA announced Monday that the football team will wear throwback jerseys for its homecoming game against Colorado on Saturday (Ch. 7, 4:30 p.m.) at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins debuted a similar powder blue jersey that included two white stripes around both shoulders in 1954 when the program finished the season ranked first in the coaches’ poll and shared a claim to the national championship. UCLA finished second behind Ohio State in the AP Poll.
“We felt this was the right time to honor those alumni and the legends that wore that uniform during that time period,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said. “Ever since we partnered with Nike and the Jordan Brand we talked about being innovative and doing things in a creative way that made sense for us.”
Former UCLA quarterback Gary Beban is among the legends to wear the powder blue jersey during his time at UCLA from 1965-67. He became the first and only Bruin to win the Heisman Trophy in 1967.
The current roster of players found about the new jerseys last week when they were called in to try on the new jersey and equipment to make sure everything fit properly.
“I think it’s sweet,” linebacker Kain Medrano said. “We’re taking it back to the old school with the baby blue. I love the cleats were going to wear. It’s going to be nice going out there wearing something new.”
The university is expected to hold several homecoming festivities and celebrations before and during the sold-out game.
It was announced that tickets for the Colorado game sold out on Oct. 17. The maximum capacity for UCLA games at the Rose Bowl with tarps was 69,747.
“We have so many people coming back,” Jarmond said. “It will be fun under the lights playing against a good opponent. It’s going to be a great homecoming vibe.”
The Rose Bowl has had the ability to seat “well over 100,000” fans but the UCLA athletics website still listed the stadium’s capacity for football games as 91,136 (before tarps were added).
As part of the homecoming festivities, a statue of Terry Donahue will be unveiled outside of the Rose Bowl on Friday. He was a UCLA player from 1965-1966 and worked as an offensive line coach from 1971-75 before serving as head coach from 1976 to 1995.
Several of his players are expected to be in attendance for the event. Donahue died after a two-year battle with cancer in 2021.
The jerseys are available for purchase here.