Since the 1960s, Nebraska has maintained a very consistent football helmet design. They have always had a very conservative design; they have never had a flashy or unusual design, even for a special occasion like a bowling game. In 1960, Nebraska had a red helmet with a white stripe and the player’s number on the side (eg, 22). In 1961, apparently the powers that be felt that even that design was too colorful and action-packed and instead opted for a white helmet with black numbers on the side. This Nebraska football helmet design is as simple as you can get for a football helmet. In 1966, the numbers changed to red and a red vertical stripe appeared on the hull for the first time. The white background and the red stripe have never left the helmet since then.

The red numbers lasted only one regular season before they were removed entirely. Instead of having the player’s number on the side of the helmet, the letters “NU” came to the helmet for the Sugar Bowl game in 1967 and remained for 2 full seasons. During the third season with this helmet design (1969), a “100” decal appeared on the front of the football helmet. It was shaped like a blue soccer ball with white numbers outlined in red. The “100” marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

From 1970 to 1981, the Cornhuskers kept the exact same design. The helmet had a white background, a red vertical stripe, and the letter “N” replaced “NU”. This football helmet closely resembles the current design with one exception. In 1982, the team changed from the basic gray face mask to the red face mask. For almost 30 years, the exact same design has remained. The “N” is as simple as possible. It’s sans serifs and looks like the basic Arial capital “N” you might type in any word processing program. It probably fits well into the show’s image as a working-class Midwestern school, where they like to run the ball down the middle. In many ways, it’s the antithesis of some of the flashier designs out there at schools like Oregon, Maryland, and Boise State. There’s not even a catchy logo like the Texas Longhorn or the Florida state spear. Looking at this football helmet, you can begin to see why cold-weather, Big Ten Rust Belt schools were quick to admit the Cornhuskers to full conference membership in 2010.