/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48576825/Screen_Shot_2016-01-16_at_9.25.53_AM.0.0.png)
Northwestern's players will wear emoji-inspired warm-ups shirts against Penn State Saturday night as part of the athletic department's Social Media Night.
The shirts include each player's face as an emoji as well as their individual Twitter handles. Joey van Zegeren (top right) and Tre Demps (middle right) do not have Twitter accounts and hence have the #B1GCats hashtag above their emoji.
Additionally, students arriving early to the game will receive a shirt that includes all of the players' emojis as well as Chris Collins's emoji.
Early arriving #Northwestern students receive this #B1GCats t-shirt at @NUMensBball's game vs. Penn State tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/sIZoRuHog0
— #B1GCats (@NU_Sports) January 15, 2016
The Wildcats have made Social Media Night an annual festivity within recent years, and for the last two years, players have had their Twitter handles on the back of their warmups. But this is the first time emojis, which were first developed in the late 1990's but have exploded onto the text messaging scene within the past half decade or so, will be featured on the warmups.
Other Social Media Night festivities include a photo booth, various giveaways, big head emojis for the student sections behind the baskets and injured forward Vic Law taking over the official Northwestern Athletics Snapchat account (username: @nu_sports).
Join us Saturday on Social Media Night to see the real-life emojis in action vs. Penn State! #B1GCats pic.twitter.com/yRuPP8mY4F
— NU Men's Basketball (@NUMensBball) January 15, 2016
You can also download the players' emojis and use them just as you would a regular emoji. Did Bryant McIntosh just score another basket, Joey van Zegeren throw down an alley-oop or Aaron Falzon knock down a three? You can let your friends or followers know with an emoji.
Tonight is #B1GCats ! ⏱ to shoot for from the top of the & the . @NUMensBball Social Media Night is here! pic.twitter.com/GSKD7qUHJP
— #B1GCats (@NU_Sports) January 16, 2016
Overall, a lot of the faces look pretty accurate. Which ones are your favorite?