For the good of college basketball, bring back the suits

     There's an epidemic raging throughout college basketball in 2025: No, it's not the threat of tournament expansion, NIL, airplane scuffles, or coaches retiring midseason that's hurting the game; it's the fashion—or lack thereof—from coaching staffs around the country.

    Not too long ago, it was customary to see the sport's best coaches wear their best. Legends like John Thompson and Dean Smith from back in the day added to the drama unfolding on the court on a nightly basis with their outside the box tie and jacket decisions. But things have changed in the more modern-era the past five years.

    Quarter-zips and sneakers became the trend across the basketball world after the Covid pandemic forced sports around the country to play games without fans in attendance and as a result, coaches  decided on a more casual look. A decision that made perfect sense at the time, and after all, it's not like there was anyone around to impress in those empty arenas. And to be honest, I wouldn't want to go back to a suit either if I was a coach. If you think about it, sitting on a bench side-by-side a bunch of sweaty dudes in your most expensive suit jacket does sound a little off, unless you're Buzz Williams. Maybe it is a little weird to see grown men dressed to the nines and sitting all packed together on a sideline all for some stupid game. 

    Both could be valid points, but neither is big enough to distract me from how iconic and important this tradition is and always will be. After all, the game is way bigger than any one man's comfort on the bench. 

    But as we approach March Madness in the year 2025 in just around three weeks time, it's time to restore the style of the sport back to its rightful place, with coaches playing their part.

   Look at the guys who have been winners over the years. Dan Hurley, suit guy. Nate Oats, suit guy. Rick Pitino, all-time suit guy. As horrific as Pitino's white suit always is, I can respect the effort now that he's coaching a capable team again. Even in the mid-major leagues coaches are bringing the heat. Tony Skinn stays looking cool for a George Mason team that is back to relevance in the A-10 after years of mediocrity.

FINAL: George Mason 58, Saint Joseph's 57

The Patriots extend their winning streak to 11, improving to 21-5 on the year and 12-1 in A10 play. It's the best conference start in program history.

Tony Skinn's Patriots have one of the toughest defenses in college basketball. pic.twitter.com/GHnMEBhMSR

— Heat Check CBB (@HeatCheckCBB) February 15, 2025

    I grew up watching coaches in the 2010's like Jay Wright, Kevin Ollie (yes, Kevin Ollie,) and Billy Donavan routinely stroll the sidelines in some of the sharpest looking suits you'd ever seen, and they did it as winners for much of that time. All three of those guys walked into your favorite team's arena with their loaded rosters of future NBA pros and ran whichever team happened to walk into the gym right out of it. But today? It's crewnecks and golf shirts. Nothing makes a game feel less important than watching a coach walk out looking like they just played a full 18 holes of golf. I'm sure it's great to save a few bucks on a million dollar contract not having to make trips to the dry cleaners anymore, but as a fan, I can't get behind the look. Fortunately, the handful of coaches that continue to do their best to keep the tradition alive by rocking their best suits nearly every time they hit the floor and for that I am thankful. 

    While yes, as annoying as some, if not every single one of coaches like Oats, Hurley, and Pitino are at times, for a plethora of reasons, they're helping carry the torch to make college hoops sidelines fashionable like they once were. 

    Hurley and Pitino squared off the other day with the St. John's coach looking like a Sopranos character at home inside the Garden. His squad rolled to a 14-point win over the Huskies and is closing in on what would be the school's first outright Big East regular-season title since 1985. As good as the Johnnies are, I can't say for certain that these results don't have to do, at least a little bit, with fashion choices. 

Sunday. Best. PART 2

(so good we couldn't pick just one) pic.twitter.com/TJWIDVVxkn

— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) February 23, 2025

 

    It's one of those things that feels so deeply rooted in the sport where the stakes feel higher, the game more intense, and the overall lore of the sport all the more iconic. And what better time to band together and bring the tradition back as a sport than March Madness in just a few short weeks? I know for a fact a mandatory suit rule would add even more juice to what is already three of the greatest weeks on the sports calendar. What could be better than to see a coach throw his suit jacket into the third row after a soft hand-check call early in a second half at 3:15 on a Thursday?

    I'm well aware such a request doesn't fall under the likeliest of outcomes, at least in the near future, but I'll keep on dreaming like many other fans around the country.