Fighting Illini football has worn ‘Gray Ghost’ uniforms to honor Red Grange (AKA the Galloping Ghost) for the past two years on Homecoming. While this new tradition will continue on Saturday, the program has opted for a pretty noticeable alteration this time around — Navy and Chrome helmets! Take a look for yourself.
Homecoming 2016 = Gray Ghost unis...with a twist.
— Illini Football (@IlliniFootball) October 26, 2016
#Illini #ILLINOIShomecoming pic.twitter.com/hS5v6rgfFD
Saturday will mark the debut of the navy blue Gray Ghost helmet. #Illini @ILLequipment @Uniformswag @BigTenNetwork @PhilHecken pic.twitter.com/zkqhnAlTtu
— Illini Football (@IlliniFootball) October 26, 2016
The full uniform set was introduced in 2014 to honor the 90th anniversary of Grange’s performance in the inaugural contest at Memorial Stadium. The Illini legend logged four touchdowns and 262 total yards during the first 12 minutes of play against Michigan. Grange accounted for six scores on the day as Illinois handed Michigan their first loss in two years.
The Fighting Illini will host Minnesota in Champaign on Saturday for the 106th Homecoming game in school history. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00am CT.