Nike Dunk Low 'Syracuse' (Be True To Your School)

Orange on the court, 1985

The Dunk began as a college shoe. After the 1985 Final Four, Nike planned a program it called College Colors: shoes, apparel and bags in matching university palettes so fans could wear their school head to toe. It was part of a June 1985 sales push inside the company, with samples promised by August, and the directive was 'Be True to Your School.'

Twelve schools anchored the program in Nike's own telling: UNLV, Arizona, Iowa, Purdue, Michigan, St. John's, NC State, Georgia, Maryland, Syracuse, Georgetown and Kentucky. A separate history counts the 1985 deals that made the Dunk High a team's official shoe at seven schools, Syracuse among them. The two accounts measure different things, and they agree that Syracuse orange was there at the start.

The centerpiece shoe was the Dunk, originally called the College Color High. Peter Moore, Nike's creative director, built it from pieces of the Legend, the Terminator and the Air Force 1; a Nike veteran later called it 'a mash-up of different shoes.' Nike describes its first retail run as moderate, but bright school colors broke up a basketball-shoe market that had been mostly white.

Syracuse in the Pearl Washington years

The school the shoe honored was a rising basketball power. Syracuse was one of seven charter members of the Big East when it formed in 1979, and the Carrier Dome opened in 1980 as the largest arena in Division I basketball, seating 35,642.

Jim Boeheim had coached the team since 1976. Dwayne 'Pearl' Washington arrived in 1983 and led the program to NCAA tournaments through 1986, and Syracuse led the nation in attendance while he played. The program reached the Final Four in 1987, won the national title in 2003 behind freshman Carmelo Anthony, and changed its nickname from Orangemen to Orange in 2005. Boeheim, head coach since 1976, retired in 2023.

From high-top to low-top

Nike reissued the original college colorways after a long gap, in a 1998-99 retro run that a sneaker history praises for some of the best materials the shoe has ever used. In 2005, for the Dunk's 20th anniversary, Nike's skateboarding line built skate-ready versions of the school colorways, and the Syracuse pair was one of the popular ones. A Syracuse Dunk High also appeared in a college collection in 2016.

The low-top 'Syracuse' that drew the modern crowd arrived on March 14, 2020, as style code CU1726-101 in Orange Blaze/White, at $100, timed to the Dunk's 35th anniversary and to March Madness alongside a Kentucky pair. It had a white leather upper with orange overlays, orange laces and tongue branding, a white midsole and an orange rubber outsole. Nike restocked it on November 1, 2022, through its SNKRS app at $110.

The 2025 pair, HF5441-106, is a reworked version rather than a straight restock. One release report dated it February 12, 2025, and another dated it March 1, 2025; both list a $115 retail price in men's sizing. In October 2026, a sneaker resale shop listed new pairs at $152.

How to tell the 2025 pair

The 2025 pair is official 'Pale Ivory/Safety Orange.' The orange on the mudguard, eyestays and heel overlay is a darker, duller shade than the 2020 pair, made to read as a sun-faded patina. White leather covers the perforated toe box, midfoot panel and collar, and an orange leather Swoosh runs from the midfoot to the heel tab.

The clearest tells are at the top and bottom. The 2025 shoe has an orange tongue tag where the earlier pair used a white one, and its midsole is a vintage sail color rather than bright white, over an orange rubber outsole. The tongue is white nylon, and the shoe comes with orange laces.

Check the style code on the box label and the size tag inside the shoe: HF5441-106 for the 2025 pair, CU1726-101 for the 2020 and 2022 low.

Why it lasts

The Dunk moved from college basketball into skateboarding and then into fashion, with collaborations ranging from Ben & Jerry's in 2020 to Stranger Things in 2025. The school colorways are the root of all of it.

One release report notes that the 2022 restock pulled down resale prices for the 'Syracuse' low, which is the pattern for this shoe: a general release that collectors value for its 1985 roots more than for scarcity. The 2025 aged version leans into that story, building the look of a pair that has been worn since the Pearl Washington years.

The numbers

Style code

HF5441-106

Colorway

Pale Ivory/Safety Orange

Release date

Spring 2025 (reported as February 12 or March 1, 2025)

Retail price

$115

Earlier low (CU1726-101)

Released March 14, 2020 at $100; restocked November 1, 2022 at $110

Production

Not published by Nike in any source found

Timeline

1. 1979

   Syracuse becomes one of seven charter members of the Big East Conference.

2. 1980

   The Carrier Dome opens, seating 35,642 for basketball.

3. Jun 1985

   Nike's College Colors program, directed under 'Be True to Your School,' joins a June sales push; Syracuse is one of the schools.

4. 1985

   The Dunk, first called the College Color High, launches in school colorways.

5. 2003

   Syracuse wins the NCAA title, beating Kansas 81-78.

6. 2005

   Nike's skateboarding line releases school-color Dunks for the shoe's 20th anniversary; the Syracuse pair is a favorite.

7. 2016

   A Syracuse Dunk High appears in a college collection.

8. Mar 14, 2020

   Dunk Low 'Syracuse' CU1726-101 releases at $100 for the Dunk's 35th anniversary.

9. Nov 1, 2022

   CU1726-101 restocks on Nike's SNKRS app at $110.

10. 2023

    Jim Boeheim retires; Adrian Autry takes over.

11. Feb 12, 2025

    Release date given by one release report for the aged HF5441-106.

12. Mar 1, 2025

    Release date given by another release report for HF5441-106, at $115.

The world in 2025

• Jan 7, 2025

  Wildfires break out in Southern California, eventually destroying more than 13,000 structures.

• Jan 23, 2025

  Thailand becomes the first Southeast Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

• Jan 29, 2025

  A midair collision near Washington National Airport kills 67 people.

• Feb 9, 2025

  The Baltic states synchronize their power grids with continental Europe, cutting ties with Russia's grid.

• Feb 18, 2025

  Egypt announces the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II.

• Feb 23, 2025

  Germany holds a federal election.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Nike Dunk Low 'Syracuse' (Be True To Your School) is number 96 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (62 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The Dunk's original name was the College Color High.
• Peter Moore built the Dunk from parts of three other Nike shoes: the Legend, the Terminator and the Air Force 1.
• The 2025 pair's orange is deliberately darker than the 2020 pair's, to look sun-faded.
• The 2025 pair swaps the white tongue tag of earlier versions for an orange one.
• Syracuse's team was still called the Orangemen when the first Syracuse Dunk came out; the name changed to Orange in 2005.
• The Carrier Dome held 35,642 for basketball, the largest arena in Division I.