Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger's tight-fit shirts about accountability and team 'unity'

With 14 games decided by single digits and four settled in overtime, the only thing tighter than the first two rounds of this year’s NCAA men’s tournament is T.J. Otzelberger’s shirt.

Otzelberger, 46, has led Iowa State into tournament play in each of his three seasons, twice reaching the Sweet 16, to develop a reputation as one of the best program builders in the Power Six. The Cyclones posted a losing record in three of the four years before the former Iowa State assistant was hired following two seasons as the head coach at UNLV, including a winless mark in Big 12 play in 2020-21.

Otzelberger has pushed all the right buttons for the No. 2-seeded Cyclones, who continue tournament play on Thursday against No. 3 Illinois. And he’s done so while straining his own buttons to the point of exhaustion: While other coaches in year's tournament have donned suits, half-zips and pullovers, Otzelberger has tucked into his slacks a series of size-straddling, second-skin polo shirts that have made him a sartorial standout.

Not a small and not a medium, Otzelberger’s collared shirts seem to exist in the purgatory between these two sizes, known as shmedium. The cut will cling to his upper body and inch up his arms, revealing impressively defined forearms, biceps and triceps while leaving a whisper of space between his chin and an open top button.

As Otzelberger gesticulates along the sideline − and he famously never sits during games, making him one of the more active coaches in the tournament − the short sleeves climb up toward his shoulders, turning the polo into something more closely resembling a tank top.

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And while the 5-foot-11 Otzelberger was a two-time team captain in basketball at Wisconsin-Whitewater, he admits his frame more closely resembles that of a wrestler: compact, somewhere between lean and musclebound, with a sturdy upper body.

"We started at a bigger size," he said, but like Goldilocks, Otzelberger had to tinker across multiple options before finding the fit that was just right.

"It can become challenging, because I’ve got short arms," Otzelberger said. "So if you wear this size polo, the arms are long and hanging down past your elbows. If you wear this polo, it looks smaller."

Opting for the torso-hugging size “gives me a greater sense of self-discipline each day. That I wear that size and opt for that, it helps me stay as disciplined and accountable as I need to be to our program, wearing that shirt,” he said.

Tight clothes send a message, according to a study conducted by researchers in the department of psychology at Old Dominion University that found the style of dress was “predictive of perceived masculinity in males.”

"Your personal style is the way that you speak without saying a word," said Amanda Wood, an image consultant and interior designer.

"It's not that tight clothing is or isn’t out, it’s very much your personal preference. And then for the observer and then society, we see very tight clothing as something we wouldn’t really want to wear, because it’s a very, like, immediate message."

For those who lean more toward a classic and conservative fit, a snug top could be seen as “you attempting to draw attention to yourself,” Wood said. “We’re not sure if you personally feel that it’s a great look or if you’re just feeling the need to stand out in that way.”

For coaches who have drifted away from the traditional suit-and-tie approach in recent years, Wood would suggest starting with layering a nice button-down shirt and vest atop a pair of khakis with “a great belt.” For shoes, she’d offer wingtip sneakers. A polo would work, Wood said, though not tight, “but tailored to you.”

This would be closer to Otzelberger’s former style. He went with the more conventional look as the head coach at South Dakota State (2016-19) and UNLV (2019-21), but then switched to something more casual during the COVID-19 abbreviated season. That was part of a broader trend among coaches on the college and NBA levels, who by and large have drifted closer to athleisure attire: loose pants and sneakers atop a pullover. Otzelberger has tried a quarter-zip top, but only one time before going back to the short-sleeve shirts.

When he arrived back at Iowa State three years ago, Otzelberger instituted a rule that everybody within the basketball program dressed the same on a daily basis. At practice, for example, every team manager, support staffer and assistant coach dresses identically: shorts, sneakers and tee shirts bearing the tenets of what he calls the team’s Category Five Culture – gratitude, toughness, unity, enthusiasm and integrity.

"I’m a guy who believes a lot in discipline, regimen, accountability, daily habits," said Otzelberger.

"It’s always interesting when coaches demand the players wear a certain thing and then the coaches always wear something different. It’s always kind of stuck with me. Like, what would I say to a player on the team if they say, why are all the coaches wearing different things and why are we wearing the same thing?"

So yes, there’s a purpose to the polo.

"Our team and our coaching staff is in unity," he said. "And one way that we can show that is through how we dress, what we wear and that we’re all on the same page and we’re all connected. For us, we’ve taken a lot of pride in everybody doing that."