Virginia Tech unveiled its new (sort of) football jerseys on campus today, accompanied by the pomp and circumstance of a pep rally (sort of) and the theme “Good Guys Wear White.” Those words were prominently displayed in the plaza behind Squires Student Center – on the back-drop behind a stage that was flanked by speakers on both sides and, to the left, by a military-style truck with Tech’s “VT” logo on its door.

Yes, the Nike Pro Combat uniforms, as they’re called, are all white – from the helmet, to the jersey, to the pants. So are the T-shirts that the sneaker giant is selling in connection with the uniform’s one-game appearance this season, Saturday at Maryland. The shirts have the “VT” logo on the front, with “GOOD GUYS” above it and “WEAR WHITE” under it.

The message is on Nike football’s Web site, which also reads “Prepare For Combat,” though I didn’t spot anything along the lines of: “Prepare to get out your credit card and pay $24 for the T-shirt and $80 for the replica jersey. Merry Christmas!”

Nike reps met with Tech coach Frank Beamer and his staff this summer and gave him three to five uniform choices. They picked this one. The plan calls for the Hokie to wear this uniform design Saturday and never again, though next season the light-weight material in these threads will be used in all of Tech’s uniforms.

Why Saturday? Well, Nike is giving these Pro Combat uniforms to 10 college football teams that wear its apparel, and spreading out the debuts in November. Nike wanted the teams to wear the uniforms against non-Nike schools – Maryland is sponsored by Under Armour – though some will debut in Nike vs. Nike games, said Nike rep Loren Hoppes, who participated in today’s unveiling.

During the rally, Hoppes stood on stage with Bill Roth, Tech’s play-by-play announcer. Hoppes said he understood that Maryland was going to be wearing black Saturday, “so we wanted the good guys to wear white.”

It’s a tidy marketing slogan that Nike hopes will earn fistfuls of cash. Just as clever were the postcard-sized ads being handed out to promote the T-shirts. “This T-shirt says more than ‘Good Guys Wear White,’” they read. “It says Good vs. Evil. It says let’s play Beamer Ball. Speed is our calling card. Offense, defense and special teams – everyone gets in on the act. It says Ut Prosim. It says stay in your shells, Tortoises, it’s time for combat. It says the good guys will always win.”

Maybe Nike had this theme set for a while. Maybe the suits up there in Beaverton, Ore., just assumed that Maryland would be having its traditional black-out, as it has done before. Either way, maybe somebody should have looked a little closer.

Because almost a month ago, Maryland announced that it would wear a black-and-tan camouflage uniform for the Tech game to honor military veterans and promote the Wounded Warrior Project. South Carolina, another Under Armour school, will do the same for Saturday’s game against Florida.

The distinction isn’t as clear as Good Guys vs. Bad Guys now, is it?

You can’t fault Tech in this situation. Tech’s Corps of Cadets makes it one of the most military-friendly public schools in the nation. Moreover, Tech is one of America’s six senior military colleges; the other public school is Texas A&M. Despite Beamer and his staff picking the jerseys and pants for Saturday, Tech’s uniform campaign is Nike territory – part of the contract between the school and shoe peddler.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one good thing coming from these new jerseys: Tech will auction them off online after the game – minimum bid: $500 – and donate the proceeds to Herma’s Readers, a non-profit organization that Beamer and his siblings founded to promote childhood literacy in Virginia. They named it after their late mother, who was a teacher.

Anyway, I wouldn’t fuss too much about the mix-up, though it is always fun to tweak the ubiquitous Swoosh. It’s also amusing to note that Saturday’s game won’t even be on television; it will air on ESPN360.com.

A lot of people who attended today’s uniform unveiling didn’t seem to think the rally was that big of a deal, either, in spite of Swoosh’s best efforts to cram enthusiasm down their throats during what amounted to an awkward, hour-long commercial for Father Nike.

A few hundred people gathered for the event, which began around 11:30 a.m. First, Roth took the stage. Then, Tech’s cheerleaders came out and performed, followed by the dance team. Then each group performed again. And again. And again. Each time, they left the stage to a smattering of applause. Many people in the crowd stood with their arms crossed. Only one danced: the person dressed as the Hokie Bird, Tech’s mascot. After the third separate performance by the dance team, a guy in the audience asked, not so quietly, “Where’s the jersey?”

Finally, someone with some actual connection to the football team came out, as Beamer asked the audience, “Aren’t you guys supposed to be in class? I’m glad you’re here.” Soon, he was joined on stage by two of Tech’s most famous football alums, wide receiver Antonio Freeman and defensive end Bruce Smith. Each threw a couple balls into the crowd. “Antonio not only catches balls,” Beamer said, “he throws balls.”

There was some talking, too. Beamer talked about Maryland having a good team. Roth bantered with Freeman about Nike and how much he liked the company. Beamer told a story about Freeman once playing on Tech’s junior-varsity team. Roth bantered with Smith about Nike and how much he liked the company.

Freeman mentioned how well tailback Ryan Williams is playing. Smith mentioned how much he enjoyed being back in Blacksburg. “Home sweet home,” he said. “It’s a special feeling when you come back to Blacksburg this time of year, the fall time, the foliage.” He said a key to winning in November was running the ball, stopping the run and limiting mental errors. He also said this about uniforms: “You’ve got to look good to play good.”

After about 40 minutes of cheerleaders, football tossing, shilling for Nike and talking about the importance of limiting mental errors in November, a door opened on the stage and out walked senior whip linebacker Cody Grimm and junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor, wearing the new uniforms.

A smattering of applause from the audience. The players looked extremely uncomfortable.

Hoppes, the Nike rep, pointed out all the cool things about the uniform by using Grimm as a model. Hoppes lifted the back of Grimm’s jersey to show the crowd that Tech’s motto – “UT PROSIM” (That I May Serve) – is stitched on the top of the pants. While doing this, Hoppes made an awkward joke about Grimm saying earlier that he had a nicer back side than Taylor and, thus, should be used for this part of the demonstration.

Nervous laughter from the audience. The players continued to look extremely uncomfortable.

“I’d sure like to wear them,” Freeman said. “These guys look sweet. Sweet in a good way.”

“They feel awesome,” Grimm said when Roth put the mic in his face.

“I like them,” Taylor added. “Different. But I like them.”

The material is different, for sure, though Tech has done its best impression of an NBA team this season by wearing a different uniform combination in almost every game. Saturday will mark the eighth combination the Hokie have worn in 10 games. To date, they have worn five different jerseys: regular maroon, regular white, orange, maroon throwback and white throwback. They have worn four different pairs of pants: regular maroon, regular white, maroon throwback and white throwback. They have worn their regular helmets and white throwback helmets.

Oh, and their regular uniforms? They were new for the 2008 season.

So Nike has made quite an effort to put the Hokie in fresh jerseys for their games, jerseys that later line the shelves of stores, with price tags dangling.

Before the rally wound down, and the players got a chance to chuckle when media mongrels asked them how awkward they felt on stage, Beamer discussed the Herma’s Readers auction and how participating in it would help a worthy cause. Then he talked more about Nike, telling the crowd to “buy their products because I think they’re the very best.”

Nike goes with an interesting slogan—“Good Guys Wear White”—for Saturday’s game at Maryland, where the Terrapins will wear jerseys to honor military troops.