Penn State, Pitt & PA College Ice Dye: Show Your School Colors in Style

College football is personal in a way that no other sport quite matches. You are not just cheering for a team — you are representing a place that shaped who you are. The campus where you spent four years, the stadium where you stood in the student section, the colors you associate with some of the best memories of your life. College team color ice dye takes those colors and turns them into something you cannot find in any campus bookstore: a one-of-a-kind, hand-dyed piece of wearable art in your school's exact palette.

I dye college team colorways regularly at my studio in York, PA, and living in central Pennsylvania means I am surrounded by Big Ten fans. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Iowa are all represented heavily in my customer base. But the beauty of ice dye is that any school's colors can be translated into this medium, and some palettes produce results that surprised me when I first experimented with them.

Here is a closer look at the college palettes I work with most often, what makes each one special from a dye chemistry perspective, and how you can get your own school color piece.

Penn State Ice Dye: Navy and White Simplicity Done Right

Penn State ice dye is a study in elegant simplicity. With just Nittany Navy (#041E42) and white, it might sound basic, but in ice dye, a single-color palette is where the technique truly shines. This is where the pigment-splitting effect of Procion MX dyes becomes the entire show.

Procion MX navy is one of the most complex dyes I work with. It is a blend of multiple dye molecules that separate dramatically as ice melts at different rates across the fabric. A "navy" dye can split into royal blue, deep indigo, teal-navy, and even hints of warm purple depending on how the ice melts and how long each section sits. The white areas are not blank. They are the negative space where ice pushed dye away, creating crisp, organic boundaries between saturated navy pools and untouched cotton.

For Nittany Lions pieces, I use a tight crumple to maximize the fracture patterns. The result is a piece with incredible depth, a dozen shades of blue flowing through white channels. It captures that Beaver Stadium whiteout energy in fabric form. Joe Paterno kept the uniforms plain and let the colors speak for themselves. Ice dye does the same thing, but with the kind of depth and dimension that mass-produced gear cannot touch.

Penn State is consistently one of my most-ordered college colorways. The simplicity of navy and white means the ice dye technique does all the work, and the results are always striking. Whether you are a current student, an alum, or a parent getting ready for a game day trip to Happy Valley, a Penn State ice dye crewneck stands out in a sea of identical printed hoodies.

Ohio State Ice Dye: Scarlet That Commands Attention

Ohio State ice dye is all about the scarlet. Scarlet (#BB0000) is a pure, bright red, warmer than a cool red but not as orange-toned as a vermillion, and it creates stunning results under ice. The dye splits into vivid crimson, bright red, and soft rose tones, creating a tapestry of reds that looks rich and dynamic.

The gray (#666666) element is created through controlled dye dilution and strategic negative space. Where the scarlet is lightest, the natural fabric tone shows through as a warm gray, and I sometimes add a very light application of a gray-toned dye to certain areas for definition. The gradient from deep scarlet through pink to gray happens naturally through the ice melt process.

For Buckeyes pieces, scarlet dominates. Ohio State fans want to see their red, and plenty of it. I use a crumple with heavy scarlet application and careful control of the lighter areas to create the gray counterpart. It is a bold, proud piece that screams O-H-I-O from across any tailgate lot. The monochromatic red palette means every fold and crease in the fabric shows its own unique shade, creating visual depth that a solid scarlet hoodie never could.

Michigan Ice Dye: Maize and Blue in Full Glory

Michigan ice dye combines two of the boldest colors in college sports. The maize (#FFCB05) Procion MX is a bright, vivid yellow that dominates any piece. Under ice, it splits into warm gold, lemon, and pale amber tones that glow with energy. Michigan Blue (#00274C) is deep and serious, splitting into navy, midnight blue, and steel tones.

Where maize and blue meet, the contrast is dramatic. The warm-cool boundary produces deep olive, dark teal, and forest green transition tones. These complementary color transitions are some of the most visually interesting effects in my entire collection. You get colors that neither dye would produce on its own, emerging naturally from the chemistry of two pigments meeting in the melt.

For Wolverines pieces, I give both colors equal presence in a bold crumple. The result is high-energy and unmistakable, maize and blue in a way that honors over 150 years of Michigan football. I have a photo on my site of Michigan ice dye crewnecks that consistently drives orders, because the colors photograph beautifully and the depth of the dye work is visible even on screen.

Why Some College Palettes Excel in Ice Dye

Not all color combinations are created equal when it comes to ice dye. Some palettes naturally produce more dramatic results than others, and understanding why can help you predict how your team's colors will translate.

High-contrast two-color palettes work best. Teams with one dark and one bright color (like Penn State navy/white, Ohio State scarlet/gray, or Michigan blue/maize) create pieces with excellent visual depth because the contrast between saturated and lighter areas is dramatic. The dark color anchors the piece while the lighter color or negative space provides breathing room.

Warm colors split most dramatically. Red, gold, and orange Procion MX dyes tend to fracture into more varied component pigments than cool colors. This is why teams with warm palettes, like Ohio State's scarlet or Michigan's maize, often produce the most visually complex results. The reds will split into crimson, rose, and coral tones. Golds will separate into yellow, amber, and honey. Each variation adds another layer of visual richness.

Complex dyes reveal hidden colors. Navy, purple, and dark teal dyes are blends of multiple pigments, and ice dye teases those components apart. Penn State's navy is actually made up of blue, black, and sometimes violet pigments that separate during the melt. This is why a "simple" navy-and-white piece ends up with a dozen shades of blue. The ice is revealing the hidden complexity within the dye itself.

Complementary colors create surprise transitions. When two colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel, like Michigan's blue and yellow, their transition zones produce entirely new colors (greens, in Michigan's case). These unexpected transition colors add visual interest that you cannot plan or replicate.

More College Palettes in the Collection

Beyond the Big Ten powerhouses, I dye pieces for college teams across every major conference. A few that produce particularly striking ice dye results:

Georgia Bulldogs. Bulldog Red (#BA0C2F) and black create a fierce, bold composition. The red splits into vivid crimson, cherry, and rose, while black provides dramatic depth in the creases. Where red and black meet, rich burgundy and dark wine transitions emerge. It is SEC intensity in fabric form.

Oregon Ducks. Green and yellow might sound simple, but Oregon's palette produces some of the most vibrant ice dye pieces I make. The bright green splits into emerald, lime, and forest tones. The yellow fractures into gold and lemon. The overlap zones produce chartreuse and warm olive transitions that glow.

James Madison Dukes. JMU Purple (#450084) and gold (#CBB677) create a regal, distinctive composition. The deep purple splits into violet, magenta, and lavender under ice. Where purple and gold meet, dusty rose, warm mauve, and bronze transitions emerge. With JMU's rise to national prominence, this colorway has been getting more attention.

Navy Midshipmen. Dark navy (#003B5C) and muted gold (#C5B783) produce a palette with quiet elegance and authority. The deep navy splits into midnight blue, steel blue, and dark teal. The muted gold creates warm honey and light bronze accents. It is a sophisticated, dignified composition that carries the weight of military tradition.

The full roster of college team colorways (26 teams across the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC, and American Athletic Conference) is available on the team colors hub page.

The Process Behind Every College Team Color Piece

Every college team color piece is made by hand in my York, PA studio using the same artisan process that defines all of my ice dye work. The blank, typically a Comfort Colors 1566 crewneck, is soaked in soda ash, manipulated by hand into a crumple or fold, covered with ice, and carefully dusted with Procion MX dyes in the team's colors.

The piece sets for 24 hours while the ice melts slowly. My studio is temperature-controlled for consistent results. Rushing the melt by working in a warm room produces flat, washed-out colors. After the full set time, each piece goes through multiple rinse cycles in my industrial washers until the water runs completely clear. The fiber-reactive dyes form permanent covalent bonds with the cotton fibers, so the colors are completely colorfast. Machine wash cold, tumble dry low, and the colors stay vibrant wash after wash.

I want to be clear about what these pieces are: they are artisan-made, one-of-a-kind garments dyed in your school's color palette. They are not licensed NCAA merchandise, and they do not feature any school logos, wordmarks, or trademarked imagery. The colors tell the story. When someone sees a navy-and-white ice dye crewneck with a dozen shades of blue flowing through it, they know it is Penn State. The craft speaks for itself.

How to Order Your School's Colors

Every college team in our collection has a dedicated page on the site with full color details, hex codes, dye technique notes, and ordering information. You can browse all available teams on the team colors hub page or go directly to individual team pages like Penn State or Ohio State.

Individual pieces are available through our tie dye preorders collection. Since every piece is hand-dyed to order, typical turnaround is 2 to 3 weeks. You choose the blank style (crewneck, hoodie, tee), the size, and the team colorway. I handle the dyeing, rinsing, quality control, and shipping.

If your school is not currently in the collection, reach out. As long as I can identify the official color palette, I can dye it. The chemistry works with any combination of colors. The 26 teams currently listed are simply the ones I have perfected and documented, but I have dyed custom school colorways for customers whose teams are not on the site.

A team color ice dye piece gives you something the campus bookstore cannot: a piece that is truly one-of-a-kind, made by hand, in the colors that represent your school. Browse all available teams on the team colors hub page and find your school's palette.