Nike Dunk Low 'University Blue' (Be True To Your School)

Be True to Your School

Nike's push into college basketball started in the summer of 1977, when Sonny Vaccaro pitched the company on signing coaches. NCAA rules barred paying players, but coaches could be paid. By November 1978 Nike had 17 schools; by 1980 it had 71. By the 1985 Final Four, every team in it, Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's and Memphis State, wore Nike.

At that 1985 Final Four, Nike leaders Rob Strasser and Jack Joyce and members of the New Products team watched students line up overnight in school colors. They decided that shoes in a program's actual colors could become badges of identity. The College Colors program was born. It was conceived by Strasser, Joyce and a small team that included creative director Peter Moore and Mary Bodecker McGoldrick. It paired shoes, apparel and bags in university colors and launched as part of a June 1985 sales push with a simple directive: 'Be True to Your School.'

Twelve schools anchored the first release, according to Nike's archive: UNLV, Arizona, Iowa, Purdue, Michigan, St. John's, NC State, Georgia, Maryland, Syracuse, Georgetown and Kentucky. The University of North Carolina was not on the list. The centerpiece shoe, sketched by Moore and first called the College Color High, borrowed from the Air Jordan I and other Nike basketball shoes and was built on the Legend's last. It became the Dunk.

Coaches, colors and a holdout

The program grew out of relationships with coaches. Georgetown's John Thompson made Georgetown Nike's unofficial flagship program after he signed with the company in the early 1980s. Nike's archive says that when executives asked him to switch his team into the coming Dunk, he refused. He wanted Georgetown in its own thicker-leather shoe, and Nike built the Terminator for him. Even so, Nike's archive lists Georgetown among the twelve College Colors schools, and a 2014 history names Georgetown among the schools whose colors went on the original Dunk High.

The Dunk's first sales were moderate, because the market was suddenly full of color after the Air Jordan I. Nike's archive argues that the shift was cultural: for the first time, fans could wear their school's identity head to toe.

Nike first reissued the original college colorways in 1998, along with several low-cut versions. In 2005 Nike SB marked the Dunk's 20th anniversary with skate versions of each original colorway. Nike Sportswear released low-top versions with a worn-in vintage finish in 2011, adding schools such as Texas, and more high-tops for March Madness in 2012.

University Blue arrives, 2021

The Dunk had what one retailer's history called 'an incredible renaissance' in 2020, and the releases kept coming in 2021. When first images of a Dunk Low 'University Blue' surfaced on March 12, 2021, one site placed it in Nike's 'lengthy list' of 'Be True to Your School' Dunks. The colors came from UNC, the Tar Heels' light blue against white.

The 2021 pair, style code DD1391-102, has a white leather base with University Blue overlays and Swooshes. Blue also shows on the laces, tongue logos, liners and heel overlays, and the outsole is blue too. Reporters noted it was close to the women's 'Coast' colorway released in February 2021, but used UNC colors alone. It released on June 24, 2021, on Nike.com for $100. One report predicted that 'when anything drops in a UNC inspired colorway, expect it to be highly coveted.'

The 2024 'Coconut Milk' version and how to tell them apart

The pair this entry tracks is the later Dunk Low Retro, style code DV0833-113. First images appeared in July 2024, and it was released on October 14, 2024, through Nike.com and select retailers for $115. Its full colorway is Coconut Milk/University Blue/Gym Red/Sail/White. One retailer calls the palette 'vintage-inspired.' Release reports describe a crisp white leather base with University Blue overlays and Swoosh, an homage to the classic UNC colors.

The two pairs are easy to confuse because both carry the 'University Blue' name. Check the style code on the box label. DD1391-102 is the 2021 White/University Blue/White pair. DV0833-113 is the 2024 pair, whose colorway also lists Coconut Milk, Gym Red and Sail.

Neither release came with a production figure from Nike in any source found. The 2021 pair was announced for Nike.com; the 2024 pair for Nike.com and select retailers.

A general release people keep buying

The University Blue Dunk shows how far 'Be True to Your School' has moved from its 1985 list. A school that was not in the original program now has its colors on a Dunk Low Nike has released twice. In 2024 the brand moved the same light blue onto an off-white, vintage-toned base.

Its price history is that of a general release. The 2021 pair cost $100 at retail and the 2024 pair $115. On October 1, 2026, new pairs of DV0833-113 were listed from $106, in men's size 9.5, at two resale shops, below the 2024 retail price.

The numbers

Release date (DV0833-113)

October 14, 2024

Retail price (DV0833-113)

$115

Colorway (DV0833-113)

Coconut Milk/University Blue/Gym Red/Sail/White

Release date (DD1391-102)

June 24, 2021

Retail price (DD1391-102)

$100

Colorway (DD1391-102)

White/University Blue/White

Production

Not published by Nike in any source found

Timeline

1. 1977

   Sonny Vaccaro pitches Nike executives and begins signing college coaches for the company.

2. Nov 1978

   Nike has 17 college programs under contract.

3. 1980

   Nike's college roster reaches 71 schools.

4. 1985

   All four Final Four teams, Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's and Memphis State, wear Nike.

5. Jun 1985

   The College Colors program launches as part of a sales push under the directive 'Be True to Your School'; the College Color High becomes the Dunk.

6. 1986

   A 'Be True to Your School' ad features the Dunk as the centerpiece of College Colors.

7. 1998

   Nike reissues the Dunk High in original college colorways for the first time, with several low-cut versions.

8. 2005

   Nike SB marks the Dunk's 20th anniversary with skate versions of the original colorways.

9. 2011

   Nike Sportswear reissues low-top college Dunks with a vintage finish, adding schools such as Texas.

10. Feb 2021

    The women's Dunk Low 'Coast' releases, a near relative of the coming University Blue.

11. Mar 12, 2021

    First images of the Dunk Low 'University Blue' (DD1391-102) appear.

12. Jun 24, 2021

    The DD1391-102 'University Blue' releases on Nike.com for $100.

13. Jul 11, 2024

    First images of the Dunk Low DV0833-113 in Coconut Milk and University Blue appear.

14. Oct 14, 2024

    DV0833-113 releases through Nike.com and select retailers for $115.

The world in 1985

• 1985

  The NCAA tournament expands to 64 teams, the year Nike launches College Colors.

• Jan 6, 2021

  Supporters of President Donald Trump attack the U.S. Capitol.

• Apr 1, 2021

  Roy Williams retires as UNC's men's basketball coach after 48 years in coaching, 18 of them at Chapel Hill.

• Jun 24, 2021

  Part of a condominium building collapses in Surfside, Florida, the day the University Blue Dunk released.

• Jul 23, 2021

  The Tokyo Summer Olympics open, a year late because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Jul 26, 2024

  The Paris Summer Olympics open.

• Oct 14, 2024

  NASA's Europa Clipper launches toward Jupiter's moon Europa, the day DV0833-113 released.

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 'University Blue' (Be True To Your School) is number 99 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 (61 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• North Carolina was not one of the twelve schools in Nike's original 1985 College Colors program.
• The Dunk began life as the 'College Color High' and was built on the last of Nike's Legend basketball shoe.
• Georgetown coach John Thompson refused to put his team in the Dunk; Nike built him the Terminator instead.
• Every team in the 1985 Final Four wore Nike.
• The 2024 University Blue Dunk went on sale the same day NASA launched Europa Clipper toward Jupiter.