After 12 seasons with a matte finish, the West Virginia Mountaineers recently announced the long-awaited return of a gloss finish on their navy blue football helmets.
The Mountaineers originally wore glossy navy blue helmets with a navy blue facemask and gold Flying “WV” on the sides from 1980 until 2013, when they introduced matte navy blue, gold and white helmets as part of a uniform redesign.
But with head coach Rich Rodriguez returning for a second stint with the program and former players like wide receiver Rasheed Marshall, quarterback Pat White and running back Noel Devine joining his staff, West Virginia is clearly attempting to rekindle its glory days.
The Mountaineers have not revealed if the change will also impact the aforementioned gold, white or black “Coal Rush” alternate helmets, though the gloss finish does appear on their old gold 1965 throwback uniforms that will debut this fall.
Assuming they replace and don’t complement the navy blue matte helmets in the uniform rotation, West Virginia will likely debut the new glossy navy blue helmets against Robert Morris on Aug. 30.
Photos courtesy of @WVUfootball on X/Twitter.
