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DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS (May 7, 2021) – As team dealers prepare basketball and football jersey orders for high schools, the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) wants to provide a reminder of a key National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules change going into effect in the 2024-25 school year. Numbers on jerseys in both sports will need to be a single solid color that clearly contrasts with the body color of the jersey.
Bob Colgate, the NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and staff liaison to the Football Rules Committee, confirmed in football the entire body of the number shall be a single, solid color that clearly contrasts with the body color of the jersey. The body of the number can still have a border or shading around it in a different color. The rule was approved in 2019 to give schools time to budget for new uniforms by the 2024 season.
The same time frame and reasoning was implemented for basketball jerseys for the 2024-25 season. The reason for the change was the difficulty to see some numbers that were the same color as the jersey, with a contrasting border, for on-field officials, game administrators, fans, media and coaches who are scouting opponents.