Corvallis High School has not adopted new school colors.

But its athletic teams are not required to wear uniforms of Columbia blue and white, the combination selected in a vote of the student body many years ago.

The boys soccer team wore black jerseys and shorts during its 4-1 victory over Crescent Valley on Oct. 27 at the Field of Dreams. The only official school colors visible were the Columbia blue jersey numbers.

There's quite a history behind the black uniforms, boys soccer coach John Callahan said.

"Trying to find Columbia blue uniforms for guys is tough," he said. "It's an odd color, it's much easier to find in women's.

"So we bought black shorts, and then wanted a color to match," so black jerseys were added as well.

Callahan said his team generally wears its Columbia blue jerseys but breaks out the all-black look for special occasions, such as the rivalry game with CV or the state playoffs.

"At playoff time we're trying to look mean and focused and there's a special energy a certain uniform brings," he said.

Also, since they are alternate jerseys, the players can keep them as mementos after the season. Before the alternate jersey was added, CHS used to lose five or six jerseys a year to departing players but now that problem has been eliminated.

Athletic director Bob Holt said the school has no policy regarding color schemes for its athletic uniforms. But he said it has not added black, navy, or any other shade, to its official school colors.

"Our colors are still Columbia blue and white," Holt said. "I think what's happened over time is, our coaches have incorporated more navy blue. We started out with navy as a trim color, because it accentuated Columbia blue."

Holt acknowledged that some programs have "wandered off on their own" and informally adopted different colors. He also wondered if the students should vote again whether to incorporate navy, black, or any other color, as a third option.

But until they do, Holt said coaches are encouraged to follow tradition and outfit their teams in the hue that dominant CHS athletic programs of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s made instantly recognizable throughout the state.

"They should wear Columbia blue," he said. "That's our color."

The football team wore navy blue jerseys from 2001-03 but changed back to Columbia blue in 2004 and have worn that color ever since.

CV adopted USC's maroon and gold as its official colors when it opened in 1971 and the Raiders often resembled a Pacific Northwest version of the University of Southern California, or a West Coast version of the University of Minnesota, for more than three decades.

Athletic director Craig Ellingson said CV added black when it standardized its official mascot logo seven years ago.

"We had so many different mascots out there; every sport came up with their own style," Ellingson said. "So we standardized the logo, tried to come up with just one, just like Oregon State has updated theirs.

"At that time, we decided to add black as one of our colors."

However, that change is not recognized on CV's web pages on the Oregon School Activities Association or Oregon Prep Sports Web sites, which still list the Raiders' colors as maroon and gold. There is no mention of school colors on CV's Web site.

Most CV teams still liberally use maroon and gold in their uniform combinations, but the program with the highest profile - football - has virtually eliminated the historical colors. CV's home uniforms are all black, with maroon, gold-trimmed numbers and maroon accent stripes on the pants. It also wears black helmets.

Ellingson said most people either haven't noticed the change, or are OK with it.

"I got an e-mail from an alum in Washington, D.C., giving me some grief about it, asking me, 'What's up with the black?' " he said. "I've heard a little (negative feedback), but mostly what I've heard is that people like it."