Black first arrived as an "accent" color in 1993, even more prominently the next year as a drop-back color that created a three-dimensional effect to the jersey numbers and other uniform elements. Although the NCAA originally denied the move, BYU successfully appealed, forging an accenter-color scheme since adopted by many other schools.

In 1994, the sleeves featured a dual-stripe pattern, with a large, white "Y" imposed overtop, while a conference-logo shoulder patch made its first annual appearance.

Also that season, the players voted to discontinue the use of helmet stickers, a source of discord since the honors favored the skill-position players and hindered team unity.

After wearing jerseys manufactured first by Russell and later Champion, Nike became the BYU outfitters in 1996, with its trademark "swoosh" first featured on a shoulder front. After spending a couple of seasons on the pants, the Nike logo eventually ended up in both locations by 1999.

The 1996 season was when Cougar pants went stripeless for the next several seasons.

The Cougars looked more black-and-blue in 1998, with the blue two-stripe helmet pattern replaced by two black stripes straddling a blue stripe and the blue-oval side logo accented with a heavy black outline.

Then came the onslaught of changes in 1999, 2000, 2004 and now 2005.

And there you have it for the 2005 line of BYU football uniforms — something old (the general design), something new (Northwestern pants stripes, never used before below the waist by the Cougars), something borrowed (the sense of tradition) and something blue (the still-debated, darker hue).

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E-mail: taylor@desnews.com