Utah Utes football: Team to don special Under Armour gear in support of troops

SALT LAKE CITY — Under Armour and the Utah Utes are teaming up to support the Wounded Warrior Project in Saturday's game against TCU at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The Utes will sport black uniforms with camouflage trim and numbers, along with matching footwear, to help raise awareness and funds for the non-profit organization that honors and empowers U.S. Armed Forces personnel who have been seriously wounded in combat.

The jerseys, which have core values like "honor," "integrity," "country," "service" and "duty" on the back instead of last names, will be auctioned off online Monday at www.utahutes.com.

The coaching staff will also don gear supporting the initiative, and fans can purchase specially designed items at the campus bookstore or on the web at www.underarmour.com.

"We are humbled and honored to partner with the University of Utah in our Wounded Warrior Project this year," Walker Jones of Under Armour said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Over $150,000 was raised in games hosted by Maryland and South Carolina last year. The Terrapins and Texas Tech will join Utah in showing support this season.

"We are very honored as a team and university to be involved in this project and honored that Under Armour selected us as one of the representatives for the initiative that they're undertaking," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "Under Armour and the University of Utah has been a great partnership and we hope it continues for many years to come."

U.S. Army Maj. Ted Putnam and retired Army veterans Adam Mattis and Terrance Peterson will serve as honorary captains for the Utes. All three were injured in the same IED explosion in 2005 and have had numerous surgeries over the years. They'll be with the team at the stadium and will join the captains for the pregame coin toss.

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com