The Arizona Coyotes are known for bold fashion statements, from their multicolored Kachina logo to using desert sienna as the template for their recent Reverse Retro jersey.
Their latest foray into courageous couture: a special edition “Desert Night” jersey created by Rhuigi Villaseñor, the founder and creative director of Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Rhude.
The team is releasing the jersey to the public on Wednesday and will wear it for the first time on Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights at Mullett Arena.
“This concept of design meets sports is a growing idea, you know?” said Villaseñor, who was hired as the Coyotes’ creative strategist and global fashion designer in October.
“This will become the fire igniter to the culture. One of the things we bonded over was bringing culture into the sport. We’re all in one ecosystem, not a separate one. For me, it’s about being the team that helps make hockey a thing in street culture.”
The burgundy jersey features the word “Arizona” in sand-colored cursive writing across the chest. There’s a star located above the letter “I” on the wordmark, symbolizing both the desert nights when coyotes hunt and the Arizona state flag. There’s Kachina-style etching on the bottom of the jersey and the sleeves. Inside the collar are small geckos, a tribute to the gecko shoulder patch from the Coyotes’ original green third jersey.
The Coyotes will wear pants with a sand-colored cactus on them, along with burgundy helmets and gloves.
In an inspired twist on tradition, the team’s captain will wear a half-moon “C” patch, while the alternate captains will be identified with a patch that creates an “A” with two cacti hugging each other.
Some NHL teams have started to partner with fashion brands to create special looks for their gear. Last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs partnered with Drew House, Justin Bieber’s design label, to create and wear reversible jerseys.
“We’re seeing an influx of sports in fashion right now, and we really wanted to be at the forefront of that, pushing the boundaries,” said Alex Meruelo Jr., the Coyotes’ chief brand officer.
This isn’t the first sports crossover for Villaseñor, who is also the creative director of Swiss-based Bally. Rhude had a successful collaboration with F1 and McLaren in 2021 that “reimagines the sport and modern luxury into an innovative and progressive collection,” he said.
Villaseñor said he’s seen other brands creating hockey jerseys, so it was time for the NHL to lean into creating jerseys that could cross over to a wider audience.
Creating an NHL jersey offered some singular challenges. Functionality isn’t always at the forefront of fashion, but it needs to be when designing game-worn gear.
Villaseñor said they tried to create a hockey jersey at Rhude, something that was more of a runway look. At first, he didn’t realize all the venting needed for a game jersey, nor did he account for the extra space required for pads.
“I thought I was coming in to design shapes and create a logo. But it’s really interesting to see the complexity of a jersey and all the things that go beyond what we usually see, which is a silhouette and color,” he said.
“With anything in life, when you have a goal, you work with that goal and then add in all the ingredients. In this case, the goal was to create an iconic jersey and one that feels like it’s part of the heritage of the Coyotes. The added parts to it are the complexities.”
Another difference between designing for the runway and for the ice: distance.
“You have to take a step back and realize that when we watch a game, we’re not five inches away from the player. These are minor tweaks that we have to do. But in the end, it’s about making a dope jersey. It was exciting,” he said.
Villaseñor said that considering, and in some ways honoring, the Coyotes’ previous looks was also part of the process.
“When I looked at the heritage of the jerseys, I really looked at the cool things that were used. I wanted to use the iconic parts of the jersey,” he said.
His favorite part of the sweater is the desert topography that it evokes. “It’s the signifier. Making sure that this becomes the Arizona Coyotes uniform, but that it also becomes the uniform of the state, right?” he said.
The Coyotes will wear the “Desert Night” jersey 14 times this season at Mullett Arena. It’s their temporary home on the campus of Arizona State University as they wait for construction of a new arena in Tempe to be greenlit by voters this spring. Meruelo said adding a special edition sweater to the mix is part of an overall feeling of rebirth for the franchise.
“It’s almost like we’re an expansion team at this point with everything going on. It’s really cool being able to create what we really see the brand and what we want it to become and engage with all those fans in waiting,” he said. “We’ve made a sizable investment in this and we feel like it’s part of the future. Ideally we want to create a Coyotes universe and service our fans in every way possible.”
Villaseñor has a key role in that audience expansion. His family moved from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to Los Angeles when he was 11 years old. He marinated in hip-hop culture and was inspired by it. He still remembers when NHL jerseys were a ubiquitous part of streetwear. He believes they can get there again.
“It was there, when you look at the 2000s and the 1990s, at music and movies and commercials and all of that,” he said. “Hockey’s still embedded in the culture. But sometimes things fall into cracks and new things come to life. But just like other sports have had resurgences and have become cool, hockey will enjoy that in an evolved way.”
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
NORMAN, Okla. — A week after John Mateer threw for the most yards in an Oklahoma quarterback debut against Illinois State, the transfer passer’s instinctive playmaking highlighted an imperfect performance that helped propel the No. 18 Sooners to a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday night.
While Oklahoma smothered Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, Mateer completed 21 of his 34 passes for 270 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception. He also finished with a team-high 19 carries for 74 yards, adding a pair of rushing scores on either side of halftime in his second career start for the Sooners.
“You saw what he can do,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said of Mateer. “He falls forward a lot. He’s got great strength and great skills. Tough guy. He’s fearless. He attacks everything without fear.”
Playing behind four new offensive line starters, including freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi, Mateer remained poised against the Michigan pass rush early, connecting on completions of 34, 31 and 21 yards across the Sooners’ initial pair of offensive drives. According to ESPN Research, Mateer finished 8-of-13 with 156 passing yards and a touchdown in blitzing situations Saturday.
Oklahoma opened the scoring on its opening possession via a pop pass from Mateer to wide receiver Deion Burks, who logged a team-high seven receptions for 101 yards. Mateer’s 2-yard rushing score with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter handed Oklahoma a 14-0 halftime lead, and he used his legs again for a 10-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Mateer’s 19 carries marked the fourth-highest single-game tally of his career and included three runs of at least 10 yards. With his pair of rushing scores, Mateer joined Lamar Jackson and D’Eriq King as the only FBS players to record at least one passing and rushing score in eight consecutive games since 2015, according to ESPN Research, dating to his breakout campaign at Washington State last fall.
“John’s a willing runner,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “He understands what it takes to win. They’re definitely designed QB runs in the game. At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win a football game, and John Mateer is willing [to run]. He probably took a big hit or two tonight. But hopefully all for the good of the team.”
Mateer’s night was not without mistakes. He was intercepted by Michigan defensive back TJ Metcalf in the first quarter after overthrowing tight end Will Huggins. Mateer was nearly intercepted again after halftime, and his third-quarter overthrow in the end zone beyond the hands of tight end Jaren Kanak cost the Sooners seven points as the Wolverines mounted a second-half comeback.
But Mateer’s risk-taking and flair for the extraordinary were also the drivers for Oklahoma in only the Sooners’ third win over a top-15 opponent under Venables. The Sooners led 14-7 early in the third quarter when Mateer shed a tackle in the backfield, rolled to his right and fired a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. Mateer ran in his second touchdown and lifted the Sooners to a 21-7 advantage just two plays later.
“The thing with John, I trust that kid to like no end,” Arbuckle said. “He understands moments and situations. He knows when to take a chance, when not to take a chance. So whenever he lets one rip and puts the ball in what someone may say is a risky situation, whenever he does that, I have the utmost confidence that he’s making the right decision.”
Another one of Mateer’s risks paid off early in the fourth quarter, ultimately launching an 8:27 drive that allowed Oklahoma to drain the remaining minutes and any lingering hope of a Michigan comeback.
Facing second-and-10 from the Sooners’ 38-yard line, Mateer again rolled out and — with Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham bearing down on him — made a daring throw off his back foot into heavy traffic to find Kanak for a 9-yard connection.
“[Kanak] kind of went to the open space and I threw it a little dangerous,” Mateer said. “But he made it happen.”
A timely bit of innovation, Mateer’s throw marked the start of a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive that effectively iced Oklahoma’s Week 2 victory and showed off the very best of Mateer and what his game-changing playmaking ability can offer the Sooners.
Oklahoma visits Temple in Week 3 before embarking on a gauntlet of an SEC schedule at home against Auburn on Sept. 20.
MADISON, Ill. — Denny Hamlin remained perfect in qualifying during the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, capturing the pole position Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
It’s the 46th career pole and third this season for the Joe Gibbs Racing star, who also qualified first for last week’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.
“We made some great adjustments from where we were in practice,” said Hamlin, who turned a 139.190 mph lap in his No. 11 Toyota. “That’s what they did so well last week for qualifying. Now we’ve got great track position and just got to maintain it, and we’ll be in good shape.”
Kyle Larson will start second alongside Hamlin, earning his first top-10 qualifying effort on the 1.25-mile oval east of St. Louis.
It was a notable departure from how the playoffs began at Darlington. Only four championship-eligible drivers finished in the top 10 of the Southern 500, a record low for a playoff opener.
Among the disappointments was Larson, whose 19th at Darlington continued a five-race drought without a top-five finish.
“I think our team needs it more than anything,” the 2021 Cup champion said. “We haven’t been able to celebrate a whole lot, so we will definitely celebrate a front row starting spot at Gateway. It’s been a rough, inconsistent couple of months, so even just qualifying good feels really nice.”
Alex Bowman, who has finished no higher than 13th at Gateway, qualified 25th as the only playoff driver who will start outside the top 20. Bowman is tied with Josh Berry (who qualified 12th) for last in the points standings among the 16 playoff drivers.
“It’s great,” Belichick said, “but it’s really about the team. It was disappointing Monday night against TCU, but these guys bounced back — players, coaches, staff, support people — and just got back to work. They were determined to have a better outcome. I’m really proud of what they did. They deserve the credit for tonight.”
After a 48-14 blowout loss that included two defensive touchdowns by the Horned Frogs, Belichick praised the team’s ability to shrug off the performance and focus on the fundamentals.
UNC led 17-3 at the half, rushed for 148 yards, and didn’t turn over the ball against Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels’ maligned defense held the 49ers to just 21 yards on the ground, five days after TCU ran for 258.
The news cycle after Monday’s loss had been ugly for Belichick and the Tar Heels — “a lot of negativity from the outside,” he said — including reports from multiple outlets, including ESPN, that scouts from the New England Patriots, with whom Belichick won six Super Bowls, have been banned from North Carolina’s facility.
Belichick confirmed those reports Saturday, saying the decision was in response to a closed-door edict in New England.
“It’s obvious I’m not welcome at their facility,” Belichick said, “so they’re not welcome at ours.”
Belichick has had an acrimonious divorce from New England and owner Bob Kraft since he left the Patriots after the 2023 season, with multiple spats erupting in the media in recent months. Belichick took issue with comments from Kraft that hiring him had been a “big risk,” releasing a statement in July saying that he was the one who took a risk by accepting the job. In a Boston Globe story last month, Belichick appeared to take another swipe, saying that one of the perks of his job at North Carolina is that “there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son,” the latter a reference to Jonathan Kraft.
On Saturday, Belichick seemed in far better spirits, though hardly effervescent in his celebration.
Asked if the team had given Belichick a game ball to celebrate his first win with the Tar Heels, senior Gavin Gibson laughed and said, “If we’d tried, I think he’d look at us like, ‘Nah.'”
Instead, Belichick pointed to UNC’s determination to wipe the slate clean after Monday’s ugly loss and offer some renewed hope that the Tar Heels wouldn’t roll over.
“It was clear in the locker room and as we got out on the practice field there was a … higher level of determination and commitment,” Belichick said. “That was good to see us improve.”
North Carolina hosts Richmond next week before heading to UCF to close out its nonconference schedule.