Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good: Vikings Partner with Van Horne Brands for 'Best in FCS' Uniforms

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State football team pushed sixth-ranked UC Davis to the brink last Saturday, signaling a promising new era for the program under head coach Chris Fisk. 

The new era was felt in every facet of the game. From the game presentation with a new video board to DJ OG One playing music on the sidelines down to the jerseys the Vikings were wearing. The Vikings debuted their STORMBREAKER white and BATTLE AXE black uniforms on social media in the leadup to the game. The designs – done by Van Horne Brands, the jersey designer for the Oregon Ducks since 1997 – have earned rave reviews, including an “FCS Uniform of the Year Contender” comment from @uniswag, an account of over 221,000 followers on Instagram. FCS Untapped also ranked them as the best uniforms in the FCS during Week Zero of the football season.

But as much as the jerseys signaled the start of something new, it was a connection to the past of Portland State football that got them off the ground.

“This is a little bit of a giveback for Chris Crawford,” Todd Van Horne, Founder of Van Horne Brands, said of the project. 

Crawford was the Vikings’ starting quarterback for their back-to-back runs to the NCAA Division II championship games in 1987 and 1988. A PSU Hall of Famer, Crawford still ranks fourth all-time in passing yards and sixth in touchdown passes. His Portland State teams went 22-5-2 over 1987 and 1988, including a perfect 12-0 record in the Western Football Conference. 

Crawford even earned a vote in the Heisman Trophy race in 1988 – yes, Division II players could get those back then – something he bragged about while working with Van Horne at Nike. The pair worked on the Nike Graphic Identity Group (GIG) together, redesigning jerseys and brands for over 120+ NCAA schools, NFL teams and Olympic Federations.

“He was on that team with me for a good five years. And yeah, just a great guy. Always optimistic. Always super positive. I mean, I think he just had his own personal energy that just got you to believe,“ Van Horne said of Crawford. 

Crawford passed away from Leukemia in 2019. His memorial service was held at Viking Pavilion. That’s how much Portland State athletics meant to him. So, it’s fitting, then, that even after his passing, he’s helping the Vikings push forward into a new era.

Another Viking alum found their way to Todd Van Horne last January to kickstart the jersey project. That was Rashad Floyd, a PSU Hall of Famer like Crawford, who now works as the football program’s General Manager. He set his sights on new jerseys as soon as he took the job.

“We have to have good energy within our program. And you know, these kids are attracted to the swag, you know? The players these days absolutely want to look good, feel good, so they can go out and play good. And so uniform design was one thing that was like on the top of my list to pursue,” Floyd said of his early priorities as GM.

So began the process. Given the tight timeline – usually programs order their jerseys during the previous season, if not before – Floyd told Fisk to order blank white and blank black jerseys instead. The rest would come from the design process.

A mutual connection with Marcus Harvey at Portland Gear connected Floyd with Todd and Quinn Van Horne. Floyd pitched his vision to them and they bought in, putting Portland State alongside a client list that not only included the Ducks and Nike, but many more professional and collegiate programs with brands that would dwarf the Vikings. 

“My job. My commitment was to get us wins before the scoreboard turns on and how do you define what a win is for Portland State football? For me, a partnership with Van Horn Brands is a huge win for Portland State football. I mean, they only work with the most elite professional and collegiate sport franchises in the world. So, for Portland State to be in the same ecosystem as the other elite programs that they work with is a huge win,” Floyd said.

Once on board, the Van Hornes worked with Floyd and Fisk to identify the Vikings’ Distinct Narrative Architecture, or DNA as the company calls it.

“We're helping identify what are the really key parts of what makes each program unique. What are the pieces that we should be able to highlight for them, and then how can we visually tell that story to the world in that way,” Quinn Van Horne said of the process.

That work brought out 12 key pieces, separated into core beliefs, visual anchors, cultural truths and vision-forward elements. All factored into the design, but taking each of the core beliefs individually:

1. We are Portland’s Football Team

A fact bandied about between Floyd, Fisk and the Van Hornes was that the Vikings are the only Division I football program within Portland city limits. That leaves the Vikings with hometown ownership of the largest media market within the Big Sky Conference and the 23rd-largest in the country.

Little touches on the jersey give a nod to that. PDX adorns the sleeves of both jerseys. Additionally, a thorn weave design – a nod to Portland’s nickname as the Rose City – runs down the middle of the helmet.

“The uniform itself is a reflection of the city of Portland. The idea came from the city, it’s designed in the city, it's made in the city, and it's going to be worn in the city,” Quinn Van Horne said.

“Portland State is in the sports innovation capital of the world, and they need to be reflective of that reality. And that's why I think that this new uniform – a new brand evolution for the football team – helps show what an amazing part they are to the city of Portland and to the sports culture itself.”

2. We Grow Where Others Won’t

The connection to the city also means a connection to Portland’s moniker as the Rose City. The thorn weave design speaks to that, but also the Vikings’ motto of “We grow where others won’t.”

Floyd did research into why Portland is called the Rose City. And while there doesn’t appear to be a general consensus, one story stuck with him.

“Some of the first settlers in the city were trying to plant rose bushes. And year after year after year, those rose bushes would not survive,” Floyd said.

“But there's always the believers and there's always the defiant ones that kept believing. And so, the believers kept planting seeds year after year after year. And eventually the rosebush started growing. And you fast forward 50 years, now Portland has become the best place for the rosebush to grow.”

The story spoke to where the Vikings are now within the Big Sky Conference. Fisk and the other Viking coaches have implored their players to have a growth mindset. They see that reflected in the players who stuck around after last year’s 1-11 campaign. They were the ones willing to grow, willing to put in the work to get better and plant the seeds for the growth of the program.

The Viking growth rune – along with the runes for new beginnings, transformation, success/physical strength and valor – adorns the collar of every Portland State jersey. It is also the texture within each number on each jersey, giving a visual anchor to back up the growth mindset within the program. 

“We grow where others won't. That is where we are within the Big Sky. That is where we are within the university. That's where we are within our football and athletic program. There are no excuses. We are able to grow where others won't. When there's an excuse, we're able to grow. When there are obstacles, we're able to grow. So, we've intersected ourselves into the mantra of our city, because our city is the Rose City, which for us, it means we're able to grow where others won't,” Floyd said.

3. Energy is Our Cultural Currency

While the Vikings didn’t pull off the upset of UC Davis last Saturday, everyone noted the team’s change in energy from last year. Fisk and the coaches have built that internally. The Vikings practice at a speed that is new for the program, wasting no time or drill.

So, the job to convey that externally fell to Floyd and the Van Hornes.

They started with shifting the visual language associated with the Vikings from a shield to being on the attack. If you’re going to climb up in the Big Sky standings, after all, you have to attack the people ahead of you. 

“We wanted things to be sharp. We wanted them to be aggressive. We wanted it to feel like it is a weapon that is coming for you. And it's something that you can't ignore. We want to make sure it has that edge,” Quinn Van Horne said.

The Viks script has two axe heads as a result. It’s also angular, as if in motion, “striking forward” as Quinn Van Horne said. The Vikings changed their helmets to have two blades on either side of the head to reflect that.

“Our mantra internally is ‘no dull blades.’ Like it's on every individual to keep their blade sharp,” Floyd said. 

“Everything we do is on the attack. Like we want to attack everything, every goal, every obstacle, the adversity, the pursuit of excellence, like we want to attack. We want to have a culture that is on the attack.”

The reception for the jerseys helped reinforce to Floyd and the Van Hornes that they were on the right path. The only naysayers were people who brought up the Vikings’ record last season as if to say, “okay, now win.”

And believe us, that’s everyone’s plan on the Park Blocks.  

“One good uniform isn't going to win you a football game. But having some energy and excitement will make people say, ‘hey, that looks really cool. I need to go out and see that. I want to be able to go and see them play,” Quinn Van Horne said.

Todd Van Horne answered that criticism by bringing it back to one of the cultural truths listed in the DNA elements they built for the Vikings. The one that said, “belief comes from the inside out.”

“Before you have anybody else believe in you, you’ve got to believe in yourself,” Todd Van Horne said. “These are elements that are coming from former players, alumni, the team, and the new coaching staff. This is a new package that represents a new future. And yeah, we know, people are going to doubt us, but we take on that moniker of that underdog and prove them wrong.”

The Vikings played with that attitude last Saturday. They’ll look to have it again this Saturday when they play at FBS San Diego State (6:30 p.m. kickoff, USA Network). 

And if a jersey helps them get in that mindset, then all that’s left to say is, “Thanks, Chris.”