UT Athletes

UT Athletes

The athletes here at the University of Texas as Austin are the closest thing we have to royalty. Wether it is sighting our first string Quarter Back David Ash leaving Jester City Limits or having a class with former Olympian Marquise Goodwin, the athletes at UT are people you recognize. Typically decked out in head to toe burnt orange, UT athletes are the epitome of subculture. Here's a look into how some athletes on campus view their fashion choices.

Male:

The University of Texas's football players before homegame.

For a small look into the male Athlete population here at UT, I interviewed a Junior Football player who asked to remain anonymous. An Economics major, Allan, as we will call him, is also involved in Younglife, a Christian club here on campus. Being a part of football has certainly affected the way Allan dresses. He says that the average time it takes him to get dressed in the morning is anywhere between five and ten minutes, and the fact that he has an 8am doesn’t really change that much. As far as his weekend attire, Allan says that he doesn’t really dress much differently because he “just like[s] to be comfortable.” He says he doesn’t really put much effort into how he dresses for class and doesn’t see why some people do. The fact that he is in Football really does affect the kinds of clothes he wears daily.  Considering they have practice during the day, he says that it doesn’t make sense for him to get dressed in the morning in something other than his practice clothes because he would just have to change over and over again during the day, which would make little sense. He also mentioned the pride he gets by wearing his school issued gear. He said that, "it just feels good to wear [the word 'Football'] across my chest."

     

    I believe Allan accurately defines the average male athlete at UT. From what I have observed, most male athletes are easy to pick out of the crowd by what they are wearing like the backpack, training shoes, and head to toe burnt orange all with the official UT brand and accompanying Nike swoosh. However, the way athletes dress may not be based on a desire to fit into their social circle, but rather a form of convenience.  Daily practices are just a part of an athletes life here at UT and Allan said it best when he described how nonsensical it would be to change multiple times in the day. Likewise, upon becoming a UT athlete, one is given a plethora of free gear to wear. It is much more logical, then, to wear the free clothes you are given rather than spend money to purchase something similar to what you already own. 

Female: 

UT Cheerleaders with their horn up!
Photo credit: Bruce Yeung

For a sample of the female athletic population, I interviewed a sophomore member of the University of Texas Women’s Cheer squad. Allison, as she will be called, is a Biochemistry major who says, when it comes to going to class, she doesn’t really put much effort into her clothing styles. Also having 8am, Allison says that the longest she ever takes getting ready in the morning is thirty minutes. Her typical daily wear to class is athletic shorts and a tee shirt with minimal makeup and hair styling. She says that school is a “place to learn, not to impress” and that those who get dressed up are just “wasting their time.” However, Allison says that being a part of the cheerleading squad does require her to dress up on occasion. For appearances and cheer events, they are required to be “game day ready” which means full makeup and hair including a cheer bow. Allison also said that when it comes to going out, she puts a lot more effort into her appearance than she does for class. But, like Allan, Allison said that on days they have practice, she normally just wears her practice clothes and cheer shoes to class as to avoid having to do multiple changes. She says, “it can get annoying constantly changing your clothes.”

            Allison’s situation is a little different than the average athlete’s since for her sport she is required to be made up and presentable when preforming. However, that is where the difference stops. A lot of what Allison said mirrored the experience and attitude expressed by Allan. They both believe that class is not the time to be impressing people and they often find themselves just wearing practice gear to class in preparation for that afternoons workout. This very relaxed attitude on appearance as it pertains to day-to-day activity is not surprising coming from athletes who spend a lot of their time doing strenuous activity.

Sociological Connection

Being one of the most recognizable subcultures not only here at the University of Texas but world wide, athletes are people you can recognize normally right off the bat not only because they physically represent the most fit form of a human being but because they tend to stick to their kind. An athlete's day is mapped out from the moment they get out of bed from what they eat, where and when they study, to who they talk to, etc. This is why it only makes sense for them to congregate together. With social deviance in mind, one my cite Sutherland's Differential Association to explain this. Since athletes must follow such a strict schedule, they may not deviate from other athletes because of the ease of having simular lives and the prospect of falling off the hypothetical wagon and losing the necessary rhythm such a life entails. Control Theory also may play a huge part in why athletes focus so much on what they do.

This explains the way athletes dress because, well, why would they want to blend in? Athletes are so admired here that it only makes sense they would use the way they present themselves, such as wearing official UT Nike "swag", as a form of identification. Also, since athletes normally only hang out with other athletes, they may feel out of place by wearing designer clothes to class before practice.

This also leads us into Looking Glass Self. Athletes may feel the need to present themselves in a certain way. They know they are looked at and watched by other students at UT and recognize they must always represent UT in a way no less than perfect. This is why, for example, you would never see a well known UT athlete walking around campus wearing a shirt with another schools name on it. Daily, one may see students wearing shirts that say "Penn State" or "UCLA" across the chest. This may be because they one day would like to go to graduate school there or perhaps it's where they did their undergraduate studies. However, you will never see a UT athlete wearing such a shirt. Athletes must always represent UT and this is something they know.

There really isn't much difference between how each gender views fashion in the case of UT athletes. Both athletes I interviewed expressed the desire to be comfortable 24/7 and saw little point in dressing up for school. They did have differing viewpoints on weekend garb, however. The female said that she does put much more effort into how she looks for going out into more social situations than the male. The male apathy toward fashion isn't rare. Generally, men are going to be more likely to dress in "whatever" where as women are more likely to get "gussied up".