Arizona Wildcats to don retro 1988 style uniforms next season

The Arizona Wildcats announced the team will wear the classic home white and road blue uniforms in a nod to the 1988 team next season.

They're here.#BearDown | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/NDyPiyAVly

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) September 28, 2022

The jersey reveal featured many members of the current team as well as Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and leading scorer of the 1988 squad Sean Elliot.

Fans of the Wildcats may remember the days of Elliot, Kerr, Tom Tolbert and Anthony Cook menacing opponents at the McKale Center en route to a No. 1 overall seed and 37-3 mark.

Elliot still holds the career scoring record in Arizona history with 2,555 points.

The team eventually bowed out to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Final Four, late head coach Lute Olson’s first Final Four appearance in Tucson.

The new uniforms will have the word “LUTE” in gold lettering at the inside bottom of the back of the jersey in a nod to the winningest head coach in program history.

Arizona’s throwbacks are loosely designed off the same uniforms that the teams wore in the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s, according to a press release.

But the team wasn’t done introducing its new look for the upcoming college basketball season.

Arizona revealed new red alternate uniforms that will debut at the Red-Blue scrimmage on Friday in Tucson.

pic.twitter.com/4d6UgwhGuT

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) September 30, 2022

The 2022-23 Wildcats are looking to bounce back from last year’s exit in the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed after a 72-60 loss to No. 5 seed Houston.

Despite losing players such as Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko to the NBA Draft, head coach Tommy Lloyd boasts the No. 3 Pac-12 recruiting class that includes four stars PG Kylan Boswell and C Dylan Anderson, according to 247Sports.