Northern Arizona men's basketball to debut 'Astrojacks' on Thursday

On Thursday, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball squad will take the court with a distinctive new look.

In fact, they won't be the Lumberjacks at all.

They'll be the Northern Arizona Astrojacks.

Editor's Picks AP men's poll reaction: What you need to know about each Top 25 team 4h ESPN Staff Bubble Watch: What the stats say about Nebraska, Ohio State and the newest 'lock' 2h Neil Paine Over the summer, the Northern Arizona athletic department unveiled a unique "alternate identity" for the school's athletic programs, a temporary rebranding of teams' uniforms and mascot (the "super space pioneer" Blouie the Space Ox) to be deployed in specific games.

The Astrojacks competed in volleyball and soccer during the fall.

They also played two games of women's basketball last month.

Now, they'll make their men's basketball debut for the program's next two games.

New Look, Same Mission pic.twitter.com/eLKCIALzAI Northern Arizona's uniforms for the Astrojacks' debut offer a stark change from the team's usual all-white home threads.

Different shades of blue make up the top half of the jersey, with a cosmic-themed "A" replacing the standard "NAU" nameplate.

The alternate identity pays homage to the rich astronomical history of the region and city the university calls home.

One of the shades featured on the Astrojacks' jerseys is "Pluto Blue" -- the dwarf planet Pluto was first discovered in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Flagstaff was also named the first International Dark Sky City -- a distinction that certifies a place's commitment to preserving dark sky sites -- in 2001.

The Astrojacks will tip off their inaugural men's basketball game this Thursday at 8 p.m.

ET against the Idaho Vandals , before suiting up one more (and final, at least for this year) time on Saturday against the Eastern Washington Eagles .

Notably, the Astrojacks have never lost a game -- the school's alter ego is 3-0-1 across all competitions it's been used in..

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