The winners were senior Nicole Pearre and Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach Eric Gentilello.
According to Head Football Coach Tony Kunczewski, there was only supposed to be one winner, but both of the uniform designs were too worthy to choose between.
“We really took 270 down to about 30, then went from 30 down to two, and we couldn’t make the decision between the two. So, we combined them and took attributes of each one,” Kunczewski said.
Gentilello said he had a blast with the contest but was shocked his design won.”I was very surprised I won because even though I was happy with my final product, I knew the odds were not in my favor,” said Gentilello. “I had a blast—admittedly, a bit too much—so I put a lot of time and thought into my design.”
All faculty, staff and students were invited to participate in the contest that ran from Nov. 8 to Nov. 20. Participants logged on to Nike’s website to design a uniform based on the affordable options to ensure the winning design came with a reasonable price to outfit the team.
“The only uniforms that were available to choose from were either in the stock or modified sections,” Kunczewski said. “We didn’t allow any custom uniforms to be chosen that would be too expensive to purchase.”
Kunczewski said the contest was a hit from the day it started.
“Within the first three hours after I sent the email, 92 people—almost a third of the total entries—had submitted designs,” Kunczweski said.
“I was surprised and excited that so many people chose to participate.”
The winning design was chosen by a five-person panel. Along with Kunczewski, the other four board members were: Athletic Director Todd Brooks; Associate Director of Regional and Student Programming Milton Chambers; Director of Student Activities Cecily Crow; and Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy Jeffery Lidke.
The contest started with the idea that it would be an opportunity to create spirit on campus as well as give the Berry community a sense of ownership with the football team.
“This is Berry’s team so everybody has a stake in it,” Kunczweski said. “If there is any opportunity to create ownership for the whole campus community, we would like to do it.”
“Many people in the Berry community really got behind this unique opportunity to display their school pride and spirit,” Gentilello said.
“Berry football is a historic change for the college and I very much look forward to watching them run out onto the field for the first time in their new uniforms.”
The chosen designs are expected to last for the next four years.
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