Column | Pitt has to embrace their past uniforms and logos, but not return to them

Pitt currently sports a pretty clean set of uniforms for all their teams. The royal blue and gold signified Pitt’s transition into the Atlantic Coast Conference, and some teams have experienced great success while donning these colors. Volleyball and men’s soccer appeared in their first respective Final Fours, football won the 2021 ACC Championship — and let’s not forget about the women’s lacrosse team’s inaugural season.

But the current colors are the end result of a two-decade-long makeover, the outset of which was vastly different and signified a darker time for Pitt athletics. Not many fans liked the uniforms Pitt wore in this era and frankly, not many people like to remember them now. However, there comes a time when the Panther faithful have to recognize the importance of the brand and how it shaped the brand we have today.

We must accept and embrace the legacy of the DinoCat.

On its own, the sharply drawn panther with the features of a Mesozoic creature is not a bad design. It’s fierce, it’s angry and most importantly, it shook the world — of western Pennsylvania. But fans’ reaction to the DinoCat’s unveiling was also fierce, angry and shook the region. The school had used royal blue and gold for almost 20 years to that point — how dare they divert from the norm?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article headlined “Pitt’s Not It” after Pitt unveiled the DinoCat logo in 1997.

When professional sports teams need to wash away the memories of bad performance, they usually change their uniforms and color scheme. Pitt absolutely needed to wash off the stench of the 1995 and 1996 football seasons, when they finished 2-9 and 4-7, respectively. Head coach Johnny Majors couldn’t recreate the magic from the late 70s, as Pitt football reached its lowest point in recent memory.

Pitt unveiled the DinoCat uniforms the next season and greatly improved compared to the prior two seasons. New head coach Walt Harris and fifth-year senior quarterback Pete Gonzalez led the Panthers to a 6-5 record and their first bowl game appearance since 1989. While that season’s Liberty Bowl against Southern Miss was a disaster, the regular season ended with a memorable Backyard Brawl.

“We knew it was a must-win game,” Gonzalez told Ron Cook on 93.7 The Fan in 2010. “It really helped our program with recruiting that year.”

Admittedly, the Panthers didn’t do too well in the rest of the ’90s, but the last game at Pitt Stadium in 1999 saw them don the DinoCat and defeat Notre Dame 37-27 in front of 60,000-plus fans. Heinz Field opened in 2001, right in the middle of the DinoCat era.

Of course the uniforms changed for all of the other Pitt sports as well, and while men’s basketball didn’t see immediate success, their time in the navy and gold colors was far more memorable. The Petersen Events Center opened in 2002 at the tail end of the DinoCat’s reign, and Pitt went a perfect 16-0 at home that season. Pitt also won the 2003 Big East Tournament and made it to the Sweet 16 before bowing out to Dwayne Wade and Marquette.

Despite the 2003 conference championship, the DinoCat was pretty forgettable when it came to team success. But multiple Pitt legends wore the infamous logo during their tenures. Pitt’s first two Biletnikoff winners — Antonio Bryant and Larry Fitzgerald — won the award with the DinoCat boldly on their uniforms. Brandin Knight was a part of that 2002-03 basketball team and Pitt retired his number 20.

The Panthers finally retired the DinoCat in 2005. After a couple of smaller changes in 2016 and 2019, the school eventually returned to the color scheme and logos similar to what the Cat replaced way back in 1997. But while Pitt no longer officially uses the logo, it still makes appearances on campus today.

The Pitt thrift account Elcon Threads, run by Pitt student Lucas Connell, regularly posts sweaters and hats from the late ‘90s emblazoned with the panther that also resembles a dinosaur. And if you look at the rows of Acrisure Stadium, you won’t find the famous Pitt script on the sides of the seats — you’ll find the DinoCat.

In an era where teams like the Detroit Pistons and New York Islanders are bringing back their outrageous and reviled logos from the ‘90s, Pitt does not need to return to their DinoCat uniforms from over 25 years ago. But through personal achievement, stadium openings and modern-day thrifting, nobody will forget the Dinocat — for better or for worse.

Hail to the DinoCat.