It is only natural, head coach Greg McMackin figured, that the Hawai'i football team should go green.

"Hawai'i is beautifully green," McMackin said. "It's a big color here."

Green was re-introduced as a prominent color in the Warriors' new uniforms. Drawings of the new uniforms were unveiled during a news conference yesterday.

The home uniforms will feature black jerseys with green numbers on the front, back and shoulder pads. The shoulder and biceps areas will have a kapa design. Also in green are the short sleeves and the word "Hawai'i," which will replace "Warriors" on the front.

The black pants will sport UH's "H" logo and Under Armour's logo. Under Armour recently won the apparel contract with the Warriors.

The road uniforms have green in the same places as the home uniforms, only the road jersey has a white base. The road pants are green.

The Warriors will continue to use dark green helmets.

They no longer will use the silver road helmets.

McMackin said black and green "are our colors. That's something that's important to bring out our tradition of having green as one of our (prominent) colors."

In the previous eight seasons, green had a less visible role in the UH jerseys.

"I'm glad coach Mack wants to bring back the green," kicker Dan Kelly said. "People like the green."

McMackin said it also was important to have "Hawai'i" on the jersey.

"The players have their names on their back," McMackin said. "The most important name is on the front, and that's 'Hawai'i.' That's who we are. We are the Warriors from Hawai'i. We're not changing that at all. But 'Hawai'i' is more state recognizable. We are Hawai'i. We're Hawai'i's team."

McMackin said it was important to make the uniforms stylish.

"If you look good, you play good," he said.

Kelly said: "It does play into the mindset. If you don't like a jersey, you're thinking too much about how you look. It plays into the psyche a little bit."

McMackin is not done yet. He envisions Under Armour producing an all-green uniform for special games.

"That would be cool," offensive tackle Keith AhSoon said.

Under Armour's contract goes into effect in July. McMackin said the uniforms will be ready this summer.

The old uniforms will be used during practices.

Under terms of the contract, Under Armour will pay for the uniforms and the shoes.

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.