POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The amount of success the Marist men's basketball program has enjoyed this season has resulted in the Red Foxes leaning into their past.
Comparisons of winning streaks and best starts have been talking points all season long as the Red Foxes have ascended to the top of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings. When Marist won nine straight games earlier this season, the last the time program had a longer streak came in 1987, the second year of the program's back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
When the Red Foxes take the McCann Arena court against Iona the night of Feb. 8, they'll do it in a look that harkens back to the glory days.
The "Marist 87s" are a throwback uniform, a replica of what the Red Foxes wore in that championship season of 1986-87. The uniforms feature an arched nameplate on the front with a block "M" on the shorts, with no names above the numbers on the backs of the jerseys.
"Seeing the throwback uniforms will certainly bring me back to my playing days at Marist," said Steve Eggink, the Red Foxes' analyst on the Red Fox Network and ESPN+ who played (1980-85) and coached for the Red Foxes (1985-86). "It was a great time in my life being a part of the first regular-season championship team in Marist Basketball Division I history."
The 2024-25 edition of the Red Foxes got their first look at their throwback uniforms in a photo shoot on Dec. 30. The first game action in this vintage outfit will take place exactly 40 days later.
The Marist 87s provide a link from the past to the present while the institution embraces its bright future. The debut of these uniforms also comes 10 days after the official change from Marist College to Marist University.
"I think it's a really cool opportunity to look back in the history of Marist with these uniforms as we're moving into a new section of the school's history with the change to a university," senior center
Jackson Price said. "It's going to be cool to see."
Price is part of a nucleus that is as unified as it is talented. It is a group that has won in a variety of ways this season, which is another parallel to the glory years of the 1980s.
"The first similarity between this year's team and the 1985 championship team is both groups really care for one another," Eggink said. "We spent lots of time together on and off the court, and played very unselfish basketball, much like this year's team.
"We also had a nice mix of talent. Teddy Taylor, Bruce Johnson, and I were seniors; Rik Smits, Drafton Davis, and Mark Shamley were freshmen. The 1985 team could beat you in many different ways, both inside and outside. This year's team can also best their opponents in different ways as well and have a nice mix of talent."
The throwback uniforms were made possible due to a generous donation by someone with a deep connection to the program and a longtime affinity for Marist. Ron Petro coached the Red Foxes from 1966-84, and he served as Director of Athletics from 1977-84. Marist made the jump to Division I in 1981 with Petro serving as head coach and AD. Petro was inducted into the MAAC Honor Roll in 2017.
The 2024-25 season has already provided Marist fans with plenty of thrills. Saturday night will be another. Another may come 35 days after that if the Red Foxes can punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, just like they did in … 1987.
