Reid Travis loves checkerboard design, embracing the Big Blue Nation

The checkerboard has been the hottest debate around Kentucky Basketball over the last few years.

Introduced in basketball uniforms in 2008 as an tribute to the silks of Triple Crown winner Secretariat, the checkerboard pattern has been used throughout UK Athletics more and more over the years.

However, there’s been an outcry from fans and even players that this was a bad design for the basketball team.

“I’m not gonna lie to you, I don’t really like the new uniforms,” said current Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox during his one season at Kentucky.

There was some hope this offseason that the outpour of negativity toward the design would lead to new uniforms. However, Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart addressed this and made it clear that he and the staff liked the checkerboard designs.

“He (Secretariat) was one of the greatest that ever ran. So we’ve aligned ourselves with some silks that are sort of cool. Our players love it, our athletes like it and they like it on their uniforms,” Barnhart told KSR back in 2016.

One current player who supports this is senior forward Reid Travis. He actually believes the design is a great representation of Kentucky:

Assuming the checkerboards are staying for the foreseeable future, it is good to hear there’s at least one player who embraces them.

Travis also shared some great thoughts on Kentucky, the fanbase, and what he’s been doing to become the best version of himself:

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