Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury’s search for the right shade of gold is almost over. And, as someone who likely has heard plenty of alumni about the right/wrong shade of gold, he knows how he’d like the decision to be made.
“It gets to me once it gets close,” he said. “Hopefully I’m not the tiebreaker, because I don’t know if I want to take all the bullets.”
The athletic department has been working with Adidas, which will become its official uniform and apparel provider in July 2018, to select one particular shade of gold that can be used for uniforms, apparel and graphics. In August, when the new Adidas partnership was announced, Stansbury said that there were between 20 to 30 shades of gold that they were considering. The field has been reduced, almost in bracket-style competition, to four.
“We’re at the final four,” he said. “So we’re close.”
The challenge isn’t quite so simple as picking the most appealing swatch.
Georgia Tech, Adidas pan for the right shade of gold
“What makes it so complicated is that, with gold, and I’m sure with other colors, but since I’m fixated on gold right now, what that color looks like on a helmet vs. apparel vs. indoor vs. outdoor, whether there’s a metallic sheen to it or not, it changes,” he said. “And that’s really what makes it difficult because, I think for the most part, most Georgia Tech people say we want to match it up or it should be somewhere in the realm of golds associated with the Ramblin’ Wreck, but it’s not that easy.”
The gold that the department lands on will become the shade that the athletic department and Adidas use on uniforms and gear. Part of Tech’s challenges in apparel over the years has been being consistent with one gold. The institute also gives licensing approval for different shades of yellow and gold for different uses, and t-shirts and hats can be found in those varying hues. Stansbury said that he thinks the decision will be reached within a month’s time, whether he’s the tiebreaker or not.
“I know gold is not an easy color,” he said. “But just knowing the timing of having to make some serious decisions regarding uniforms and those types of things for fall sports, we’re definitely under the gun.”
