New Hand Painted Helmet For Utah Football Revealed

SALT LAKE CITY— After announcing this weekend’s dark mode uniform on Tuesday, Utah football followed up with a surprise reveal of its newest hand painted helmet.

This year’s theme is an updated version of the “drum and feather,” the very first hand painted helmet for Utah. 

On Wednesday, the program dropped a video highlighting the new helmet.

2025 Hand Painted Helmets ✋🎨🪶

The Utes will wear these helmets 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘 at @Rice_Eccles ❗
️#GoUtes | @CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/w3RP68CiVM

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 29, 2025

The helmet will be worn against Cincinnati on Saturday night. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.

Details of Utah football’s hand painted ‘Drum and Feather’ helmet

The drum & feather stands the test of time—because it honors the Ute Tribe, which continues to grant the university permission to use its name.

The first hand-painted helmet design nailed it from the start—every detail pops and showcases that classic mark beautifully.

This latest edition is another fantastic look and tribute to meaningful logo for the Utes.

𝘼 𝙣𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘🪶

Here’s a closer look at the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝘁𝘀🔥#GoUtes | @CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/FtXDuCasLT

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 29, 2025

The significance of Utah’s circle and feather logo

The circle and feather logo symbolizes the Ute tribe’s “circle of life” paired with eagle feathers of honor. It’s a visual link between the university’s athletics program and its relationship with the Ute tribe — a form of recognition and respect for tribal heritage.

Because of that relationship, the logo carries more weight than a typical athletics mark: the tribe’s cultural values, symbolisms and rights are embedded in how the logo is presented and used.

Utah’s Hand-Painted Helmet History

Utah adopted this unique route of special helmet themes starting in 2016. Every season outside of 2020 has featured a new theme highlighting a unique characteristic of the Utes’ brand, culture, and identity.

• 2016- Black Drum and Feather Helmets
• 2017- Red “Throw The U” Helmets
• 2018- Red Tail Hawk Helmets
• 2019- 1966-67 Throwback Helmets
• 2021- USS Salt Lake City Helmets
• 2022- 22 Forever Helmets
• 2023 – The Muss Helmets
• 2024 – ‘Malama Lahaina’ Helmet

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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