Armando Villarreal’s “moon” helmets for the University of Central Florida were shipped off last week to be finished up for the 2019 space game vs. Houston on Saturday. The facemasks, shown on drying racks at right, are also painted to match the design on the helmets. (Johnson Publications photo)
Villarreal’s UCF ‘moon’ helmet project debuts Saturday
He’s at it again.
Armando Villarreal now has another helmet project under his belt, this time for the University of Central Florida (UCF).
UCF will wear special space-themed uniforms for their game with Houston Saturday as part of their annual space game.
Those helmets—all 151 of them—were hand painted by Villarreal.
This isn’t his first helmet project. The first one was for Mississippi State University (MSU) last year.
He got the job because a representative for Schutt, a helmet manufacturer, saw his work at an expo for Major League Baseball.
Schutt now sends him special projects like the UCF helmets.
UCF was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University, with the mission of supporting the growing United States space program at nearby Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
They still have close ties with the space center, and have a whole week of space-themed events throughout the week leading up to the “space game.”
“This year (UCF) decided they wanted the moon—the light and the dark,” Villarreal said.
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