Remember this?

Conference USA got raided in the most recent round of conference realignment. I don’t know who’s coming and going, so this ranking is based on the current list of teams.

11. Rice University Owls

The Owls have been one of the least consequential teams of the last decades and they have the uniform to show for it. If you’ve been following this playoff, you’d know that I fucking hate the combination of grey and navy blue. Also, the ‘R’ emblem is uninspiring. BUT, I guess they occasionally play with Owl-winged helmet, which is kinda dope.

10. Alabama-Birmingham Blazers

Top to bottom, Conference USA uniforms aren’t bad. This includes the UAB Blazers. Now their jerseys and pants are solid, but my complaint is with the helmet. Specifically the emblem ON the helmet. It’s ugly as sin. Moreover, it makes me want to barf. Dragons are cool (I guess that’s what it is), but goddamn, couldn’t they have come up with a better design?

9. UT-San Antonio Roadrunners

I’m fond of orange. And as we’ve learned with Boise State, orange and blue can work well together. But something about this comes up short. It’s probably the navy blue.

8. Florida International University Panthers

Despite using the hated navy blue, this uniform is actually well put together. Nothing inspiring, but nothing offensive either.

7. UNC-Charlotte 49ers.

I’ve seen a few different variations of this uniform and all except the solid gold ones are pretty good. While this doesn’t pop like I think a football uniform should, the standard solid green ones are pretty sharp.

6. Florida Atlantic Owls

Again with the navy blue. But they vary up their uniforms enough to not become stale. The solid reds with the Florida emblem are dope AF.

5. UT-El Paso Miners

And once again, the use of dark/navy blue drag this one down but they’re not afraid to accentuate the orange. I’ll keep pounding the table for football teams to go bold with orange.

4. UNT Mean Green

This is the only school that I can recall joining the American Conference sometime in the near future (maybe even this year) but it won’t end up mattering for our purposes. But I love the simplicity of this uniform. I love the name ‘Mean Green’. And I love the badass logo. It’s just unfortunate that there’s a few other schools that have slightly better uniforms.

3. MTSU Blue Raiders

This is also a simple uniform, but it’s extraordinarily effective. There’s a few variations on the helmet, all of which are also effective but the black one takes the cake.

2. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Of all the teams that utilize red, white, and blue, this one might be my favorite. And kudos to Louisiana Tech for incorporating the shape of the state into the logo. I love it when teams do this. While they might not have the best uniforms in the conference, Tech will probably sneak into the playoffs as a wild card.

1. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Not only has WKU been quietly one of the best programs in the nation, they also have one of the best uniforms. And I don’t care what their mascot ‘Big Red’ is, I fucking love the guy. And I’m not just saying this because this is my wife’s alma mater, I love everything about this outfit…especially when they use that silver helmet.

WKU will advance to the playoffs.