Tennessee football adds own version of 'Summitt Blue' for game against Pat Summitt's alma mater

Tennessee football will debut its own version of the "Summitt Blue" uniforms this weekend for homecoming.

The light blue alternate uniforms were announced for four women's teams in honor of the 50th anniversary year of Title IX and the legacy of Pat Summitt. The No. 4 Vols (6-0) will celebrate both on Saturday (noon ET, SEC Network) in the game against UT Martin (4-2), which is Summitt's alma mater.

Along with a full orange uniform, football players will have the option to wear blue compression sleeves and arm bands.

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The blue accent color has been tied to the Lady Vols programs since Summitt was head of the women's basketball program. It never had a name until this year when the alternate "Summitt Blue" jerseys were announced.

Tennessee soccer and volleyball were the first to wear the bright blue jerseys this fall and women's basketball and softball will follow in the winter and spring. The collection is being called the "Summitt Legacy" series.

"Summitt Blue" made its first appearance in 1968, when Tennessee women's athletics director emeritus Joan Cronan was looking for women's basketball jerseys. No companies offered Tennessee orange uniforms, so Cronan chose Columbia blue uniforms with orange letters – and the blue has stuck ever since.

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"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," Tennessee athletics director Danny White said in a release. "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."

After upsetting Alabama on Saturday, Tennessee football is 6-0 for the first time since the 1998 undefeated championship season If UT wins Saturday, it will finish its nonconference schedule undefeated. The Vols will then resume their SEC schedule and face Kentucky, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt to close out the regular season.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football to wear 'Summitt Blue' for UT Martin game