If you're looking for where the alternate helmet and uniform craze started, most people will tell you Oregon's willingness to be bold and push the envelope well over a decade ago kicked off the trend.
Not counting the beauty and brilliance that Army and Navy unveil each year in their matchup, i just found myself thinking that in recent years, alternate helmets and uniforms have been pretty tame, or as today's kids would call them - "mid."
Sadly, it seems the days of Maryland's state flag helmets sending sending social media into a tizzy are closer to the end that we care to acknowledge.
If you're wondering where - or if - the trend of alternate uniforms and helmets will ever die, well we've got a new reference point.
Middle Tennessee has made the interesting decision to eliminate their alternate jerseys and helmets this season, newly appointed MTSU general manager Dana Marquez told Front Office Sports.
For them, it came down to a financial decision.
"How are we going to best compete against different positions if we're here spending money on stuff that really we're only wearing one time a year?" Marquez asked.
Part of a three-year plan, Marquez shared that they're starting with cutting out their black and gray uniforms, and four of their alternate helmet offerings.
"We went with one color, and we did a game helmet and a practice helmet."
Cutting the four alternate helmets (over 400 in total) saved the program a whopping $500k, and cutting the two uniform colors is saving nearly $170k, amounting to a total saving of nearly $670k.
A large portion of that savings is being allocated into the school's NIL payments, as 30% of second-year head coach Derek Mason's roster is receiving some form of NIL payment, while the rest will ensure MTSU is able to make new hires to advance the football program.
The article goes on to share MTSU's unique approach to NIL.
Players are able to earn over their monthly allocation by doing things in the community, like going to the local farmer's market on Saturday's, or meeting with a local gourmet peanut butter company, or even selling tickets to their August 30th opener against Austin Peay.
Marquez goes on to share that kind of stuff is what the vision of NIL started off as, and he and MTSU are hoping to lead among Group of Five programs in that area, with the goal of that their approach will prove to players on their recruiting visits that they care more about the person as a whole by giving them tools for their future, rather that throwing money at a player because of his on-field skill set.
While the alternate uniforms are certainly a perk, their unique approach has shown some early promise.
Coming off a 3-9 initial season under Mason and his new staff, MTSU was able to put together one of the top recruiting classes in Conference USA, so perhaps the NIL and earning model approach means more than having different colored uniforms and alternate helmets to choose from.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.