The Puma boys basketball team will no longer be sporting their brand new, all gray, home uniform kits. At the recent McClintock Holiday Shoot-Out basketball tournament, the AIA head of officials pointed out the team’s gray uniforms, which happened to be illegal but were going unnoticed.  According to the National Federation of High School basketball (NFHS) “the torso color shall be white for the home team and a contrasting dark color for the visiting team.”

“The rule in the NCAA and in the pros is that it can be a light color,” athletic director Jennifer Burks said.

This and a recent change in the NFHS color requirement for home uniforms – from allowing any light color to only white – led the team to not realize there was an issue.

“I think we were just unaware that it had to be white,” Burks said.

According to varsity coach Joe Babinski, “in most states gray is acceptable.” Arizona is one of the few that does not permit anything but white. However, Babinski believes that the rule will be amended soon because the majority of basketball teams (from high school to professional) can wear gray.

Although the team was disappointed about the news, they realize the uniforms were not a priority.

“You want to look good, but the bottom line is that you want to win the ball game,” Babinski said.

For the remainder of this season, the varsity team will wear last year’s white uniforms at home games. Next year, the team will buy a new set of white uniforms.