New coach, new team, old jerseys?<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Penn announced that its men\u2019s basketball program will wear throwback jerseys throughout the 2025-2026 season, returning to the colorway from its iconic Final Four run for the first time since 2019. <\/p>\n
The new jerseys are reminiscent of an era of winning, an era that new head coach Fran McCaffery was a part of.<\/p>\n
\u00bb READ MORE: Penn brought Fran McCaffery home, where he can be near his brother, a longtime sportswriter recovering from a stroke<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s more of just the essence of bringing back this era of Penn basketball and the symbolism,\u201d senior forward Ethan Roberts said. \u201cJust all of what that entails for Philly basketball. Penn being successful, having hype around it, filling up the Palestra, and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n The uniforms are iconic for having \u201cPennsylvania\u201d written across the front, and full-body red or white coloring throughout. The Quakers switched from \u201cPennsylvania\u201d to \u201cPenn\u201d across the chest of its jerseys in 2005. <\/p>\n The team last wore throwback jerseys in 2019 for a home game against Princeton in commemoration of the 40-year anniversary of the program\u2019s 1979 Final Four run that ended at the hands of Magic Johnson\u2019s Michigan State. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Ben Luber has an eye for spotting talent. He wants to bring those under-recruited gems to Penn.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n A team led by legendary Penn coach Bob Weinhauer in his second year as head coach, and Tony Price, a former Ivy League Player of the Year, the 1979 team is still the last Ivy League squad to compete in the Final Four or Elite Eight as of 2025. This style of jersey was worn mainly from the 1970s to early-1980s, according to Penn Athletics.<\/p>\n Fran McCaffery \u2014 unable to join the team for the playoff run during the 1978-1979 season due to then-NCAA transfer rules \u2014 would join in the subsequent season. He left a lasting legacy as a star point guard over three years. A legacy that the players are excited to help build on.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cool that he\u2019s walked our hallways and wore Penn across his chest,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cEven the same jersey we have on now, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s full circle for him. It is just cool to see. I think he\u2019s certainly happy. It means more that he came back home for us.\u201d<\/p>\n