Daryl Gross, Syracuse’s athletic director, already went retro with Syracuse’s football jerseys. Now, it’s basketball’s turn.

The men’s team will unveil redesigned, form-fitting uniforms made by Nike either in the Big East tournament next week or in the NCAA Tournament later this month, Gross said. The shorts will include wide, fat stripes in white, gray, blue and orange circa the late 1970s when the team played in Manley Field House.

Syracuse is one of only four schools – including Ohio State, Florida and Arizona – that will wear the sleeker uniforms in postseason play, Nike spokesman Brian Facchini said Thursday. The Gators debuted their jerseys Tuesday against Tennessee.

Gross, who said the school started collaborating a change with Nike last fall, walked from his office to a Manley equipment room to see the uniforms for the first time Thursday afternoon.

The all-white home jerseys feature ‘ORANGE’ written across the chest in orange block lettering. The road jerseys remain all orange with ‘SYRACUSE’ on the chest in white. The numerals on both jerseys are silver. A diagram from Nike on Gross’ desk Thursday showed an all-blue version, which could be an option next season.

‘We’re always looking to be progressive on our uniform front at Syracuse,’ Gross said walking back to his office. ‘It’s because of Coach (Jim) Boeheim and his relationship with Nike. Jim is really open to enhancing our team look.’

Facchini said the uniforms will be tighter against the body – which will give opponents less to grip onto – and feature a moisture-management system that reduces the effect of perspiration.

The current design of the uniform debuted in 2004-05 and received minor tweaks for this season. Syracuse radically changed its football uniforms in 2005 by adding numerals on the helmets and skinny stripes on the shoulders circa the 1950s and 1960s.

The basketball team concludes its regular season Saturday at Villanova (20-9, 8-7 Big East). The Orange (21-8, 10-5) needs a win and a Notre Dame loss against Rutgers to finish in the top four of the conference and receive a bye in the Big East tournament. SU is guaranteed at least the fifth seed, which plays the 12th seed Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Madison Square Garden. The fourth seed plays its first game Thursday.

Approximately 65 tickets for the Big East tournament will be made available to student season ticket holders Monday at 11 a.m. at the Carrier Dome box office in front of Gate B. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Published on February 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm