‘Tech gold’ to be revealed Friday

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 9: Members of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Cheerleaders perform during the game against Jacksonville State Gamecocks on September 9, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 9: Members of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Cheerleaders perform during the game against Jacksonville State Gamecocks on September 9, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

As the official start date of Georgia Tech’s partnership with Adidas approaches, the athletic department will reveal one element of its branding campaign with the shoe company Friday. “Tech gold,” the shade of gold that the athletic department will use for apparel, uniforms and other branding elements, will debut on the department’s website and on social media.

The athletic department also will make a limited amount of Adidas merchandise with the new Tech gold available for purchase Friday, when the football team holds its annual spring game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The products will be available at the stadium and at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on 5th Street in Midtown.

Athletic director Todd Stansbury has led the department's search for an official shade of gold with Adidas' help. A complaint of fans and alumni has been that there has not been a consistent gold in apparel or teams' uniforms.

Adding to the challenge is that the shades can look differently depending on the material and lighting.

To that end, Stansbury and other members of the department considered between 20 and 30 shades of gold before reaching a winner.

Officials from the athletic department and Adidas have been in constant communication over the past several months as they collaborate on matters such as uniform design and branding. Several members of Adidas’ creative team have been on campus this week. Stansbury said last week that designs for uniforms for the 2018-19 year are 90 percent complete.

Tech and Adidas joined together in August, with their contract going into effect July 1. It will bring to an end the department’s longtime partnership with Russell Athletic.