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FCS football might fly under the radar until playoff time, but Northern Arizona University is making sure you won’t miss them next season with their stellar new space-themed identity that highlights a hidden gem in their academic offerings.
NAU just unveiled their “Astrojack Helmet” for the 2025 season that pays tribute to the university’s NASA Space Grant program. It’s not something most college football fans know about, but NAU’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science houses this program as part of Arizona’s statewide Space Grant Consortium.
These aren’t your typical alternate helmets, either. One design shows a bull rocking a space suit while still carrying the traditional Lumberjack axe and log. The other features a massive “A” styled like the iconic NASA logo, complete with Saturn-like rings circling it.
Northern Arizona trying out an “Astrojack Helmet” — Lumberjacks basketball already doing an alternate identity for NAU’s space program, so why not football? 😍🪵🚀 pic.twitter.com/kYCG02XQxB
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 21, 2025
Lumberjacks blast off with cosmic rebrand
The basketball squad actually launched this whole cosmic concept earlier this season. They’ve been sporting uniforms with the same color scheme as the football helmets — a design that cleverly displays Earth’s atmospheric layers in reverse order from top to bottom.
Vision focused 🏀🔒#RaiseTheFlag | #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/miWXqgcHqW
— NAU Men's Basketball (@NAUBasketball) February 23, 2025
NAU’s campus-wide initiative serves a dual purpose — highlighting the important research happening in their space program while also raising funds for student-athletes. They’ve even set up an auction site where fans can bid on replica helmets, photos, and basketball jerseys from the collection.
Space-themed uniforms aren’t completely new to college football. UCF has made it a tradition to wear their “Space City” gear for at least one game annually since 2017 — a nod to their proximity to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral where NASA launches most of its missions.
But NAU’s cosmic take feels fresh and meaningful — connecting athletics with academics in a way that stands out. These new lids and threads are aiming for the stars, and from what we’ve seen, they’re right on target. Even if you don’t typically follow FCS action, these space-age Lumberjacks might be worth tuning in for next season.
