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SALT LAKE CITY — Street clothes aren’t the only thing changing as fashion trends evolve with the times.
The leotards gymnastics teams wear on the competition floor are just as fashion-forward as one can imagine.
For Utah gymnastics, and the sport in general, there’s been a difference in competition wear since the program began in 1976.
“Most people don’t know that Greg (Marsden) was behind our leotards over all the years he was here,” Utah co-head coach Megan Marsden said of her husband and former Red Rocks coach. “We’re three years in (without him) and I finally got to step in and take care of that.”
Marsden admits she was excited and a little nervous to take control of designing the team’s leotards since her husband had done “such an incredible job” for 40 years. But with the help of Jennifer White, the team’s chief of staff, Marsden has added a new flair to the Red Rocks’ getup.
Joining forces with the Pac-12 and Under Armour gave Utah a chance to design a plethora of leotards at once. Greg Marsden is the mastermind behind several school-spirited outfits that still fill Utah’s arsenal, partly because of the cost of each leotard.
“My goal was to take all those beautiful leotards and continue to keep many of them, slowly replacing a couple each year,” Marsden said.
As Marsden and White began their takeover, they sent GK Elite, the leotard company Under Amour works with, ideas and visuals.
“We didn’t have much red in our leotards because Greg preferred black,” Marsden said. “In Greg’s early days, he went out of the box with neon colors and rarely used red, black and white. He incorporated new colors to be different.”
Upon refreshing their closet, the Red Rocks have unveiled two new leotards in as many seasons. Last year, the team debuted its all-red outfit before its highly anticipated meet against rival UCLA. On Tuesday, the team revealed its first-ever Ute Proud leotard, inspired by the vibrant colors and intricate beadwork on the Ute tribe’s authentic regalia, which fans can see firsthand when the Red Rocks host Oregon State on Friday.
“They’re beautiful,” senior Maddy Stover said of the team’s newest addition. “It’s pretty neat we can tie in such an integral part of our university as the Ute tribe, being able to represent them on the floor and honor them at our meet. It’s going to be pretty special.”When Utah’s attire isn’t set by a marketing initiative, the team has upwards of 10 competition leotards to choose from. The upperclassmen have the luxury of selecting what outfit the team will wear. And as perfectionistic as gymnasts are, there’s a strategy behind what they don each week.
Whenever the Red Rocks compete against a team with a dominant color of blue — such as BYU, UCLA or Michigan — they wear as much red as possible to distinguish themselves. Utah also keeps “flashier” leotards specifically for the postseason.
Arguably the team’s favorite leotard is what it calls the “Drum and Feather.” Utah typically saves the all-black leotard, which features a giant version of the university’s drum and feather logo on the left side, for Senior Night.
“We have funny names for all of them — Super U, Drum and Feather, Little U’s,” Stover said.
Stover added that they try to switch things up by wearing leotards at home that they wore at away meets in earlier years.
“We haven’t worn Ice Skater at home for a while, but you’ll see it (at the Huntsman Center) this year since I’m a senior and I want to wear it at home,” she said, smiling.
What to wear on meet day is part of the fun for the Red Rocks and adds to the overall experience. Getting new attire is an added bonus.
“I think we have some of the best leotards in the NCAA,” Stover said.
