Tennessee Teams To Debut New ‘Summitt Blue’ Uniforms This Year


Tennessee Athletics is updating its brand standards and renaming the blue accent color historically associated with the Lady Vols “Summitt Blue,” honoring late Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Additionally, four teams will debut the Summitt Blue uniforms during the upcoming 2022-23 academic year – a collection dubbed the “Summitt Legacy” series. The Tennessee soccer, volleyball, softball and basketball teams will compete in the new Summitt Blue jerseys.

Summitt Blue stands alongside “Smokey Grey” and “Dark Mode” (formerly Anthracite) as the three accent colors on Tennessee Athletics’ official color palette.

“Tennessee’s history as a worldwide leader in women’s athletics, along with the Lady Vols’ unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate,” says Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White. “As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni.”

The first version of the Lady Vols’ blue accent color appeared in 1968 when Joan Cronan set out to obtain jerseys for the women’s basketball team. At the time, no company offered an orange uniform, so Cronan opted for Columbia blue uniforms with orange lettering when the Lady Vols played at home.

Later, when orange uniforms became available, Tennessee switched to the traditional orange jerseys but a touch of Summitt Blue has remained.

Steven Boero