Illinois is going all out to celebrate a special game in program history.

On Oct. 19, Illinois hosts defending national champion Michigan. The game will be played 100 years and 1 day after Red Grange’s historic 6-touchdown performance against the Wolverines during the Memorial Stadium Dedication Game in 1924. To celebrate the historic performance, Illinois is turning the clock back to 1924 with a special uniform for the 2024 meeting with the Wolverines.

Fans and players alike love a good throwback uniform. Illinois went the extra step for its Rededication Game look.

The 2024 Illini will look a lot like the 1924 Illini, even down to the headgear. College football players wore leather helmets 100 years ago. While Illinois will wear modern helmets, the lids will have a “leather” look.

The throwback jerseys feature a blue base with tannish-gold stripes that form a pyramid shape and run from the bottom of the shirt to the top of the numbers. The jersey numbers are white with outlines. The jersey also features the Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary patch that will be worn throughout the 2024 season.

The throwback pants share the stripes’ tannish-gold hue. Players will sport blue socks to complete the look.

Recreating the “leather” helmet look presented challenges. The program found Armando Villarreal, the owner of an airbrushing company in southern Nebraska, who will hand-paint each individual helmet in s multi-step process.

“One hundred years ago, the jerseys all had very similar designs, so we knew what would set us apart in that overall aesthetic was a leather helmet and to create that textured look,” Jake Rosch, director of football equipment operations, said via the team website. “On the helmet, there are straps that go over the top and form a sun pattern, but the only way to accomplish that was for it to be hand-painted. For each individual piece of leather that was on a leather helmet, we wanted it to be reflected on the shell of the helmet so it looked like you were wearing that helmet.

“Armando has done a really great job and been a really good partner in this whole process.”

Michigan has dominated the series with Illinois, owning a 72-23-2 record. The Wolverines have won the last six meetings, played over the course of 2010-2022. We’ll see if the throwback unis change the Illini’s luck.

Featured image via Illinois Football @IlliniFootball on X, formerly Twitter