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f 3 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 something a little bit different. You never want to lose your traditional uniform of who we are, but I think you can always throw (in) a little wrinkle." The Boilermakers will do that this season, as they did last, on their helmets only. It's there that individual programs have more control; after introducing the black helmets for its game vs. Ohio State last season, Purdue will have at least three new headgear looks in 2014 with tweaks to the decals, including its "selfie" picture col- lage on a motion P for the Homecoming game. But Purdue won't — can't, really — mess with the uniforms. Purdue has been a long- time team school partner of Nike, with a contract extended last summer through 2021, but nego- tiating with the apparel company for a new uni- form design, even an alter- nate, is a challenge. "You can use whatev- er word you want," said Mike Shandrick, Purdue's equipment manager since 1998, when talking about uniform conversations with Nike. "(And) you'd hit all points of the tree. Yes, a lot of times it is a discussion. Yes, a lot of times it is a battle. Yes, a lot of times it is frustrating. And yes, a lot of times there is hope. "But it's just not Purdue. Maybe it's a group of schools like Purdue — the Iowas, the Iowa States — but our contract overall is very competitive. So with that, we should be very competitive with uniforms also." Purdue's contract extension with Nike, executed in July 2013, calls for the company to supply the program with as much as $1.6 million in product for the 2013- 14 athletic year, escalating to $1.75 million annually by 2020-21. Plus, yearly base compensation of $350,000. THE KIDS LOVE 'EM Ra'Zahn Howard cares. When he was being recruited a few years ago, he ad- mits that uniforms played a role. Not the biggest role, but a role nonetheless. The nose tackle says he likes to look good on the field, wearing long sleeves and a visor on his helmet to give him a more menacing appearance. And the clothes mat- ter, too. "Coming to Purdue, knowing it's a Big Ten school and we were sponsored by Nike, that was one of my main things," said the sophomore. "We have pretty cool uni- forms. The all white, with the black helmets, that's my favorite. It was one of the things I liked about the school when I decided to come here." Howard's not the only one to consider uniforms a key component in re- cruiting. Over the years, when a uniform concept has been posted on the Inter- net, generally something designed by a Photo- shop-literate Purdue fan, it has garnered plenty of chatter. Fans, current play- ers and potential future ones retweet the design on Twitter, or post it on Facebook, discussing what they like, or maybe don't like. Some designs might be a little out of left field, but most stick to Purdue's traditions, only with an update: Maybe a train here, or tracks there. Gray is a bit more acceptable as a Boilermaker color these days, perhaps because of Nike's use of it as one of the basketball team's alternate jerseys. "It's a tug between what your young kids want and what your fan base can accept," athletic director Mor- gan Burke said. "Some of the younger fan base don't care and some of your older fan base thinks those colors (of gold and black) are sacrosanct." While fan designs get others excited, a true Purdue uniform redesign likely won't come until 2016. Then, Purdue garnered national attention in June, with its "selfie helmet" idea, one in which fans will get to be part of the Boiler- makers' headgear.