Air Jordan 1 High “University Blue”: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

Jordan Brand is going back to school with its latest colorway of the Air Jordan 1 High, as the University Blue, or “UNC Toe,” drops on Saturday for a retail price of $180.

During the pandemic era, there was perhaps no shoe more guaranteed to sell out than an Air Jordan 1. Along with the Nike Dunk, the Air Jordan served as the dominant sneaker of the early 2020s, perhaps defining an era thanks to Jordan Brand’s frequent collaborations with Travis Scott on the model. However, 2023 has seen some cracks in the foundation of the Air Jordan 1, with models such as the True Blue, Lucky Green and Washed Black all sitting somewhat on shelves and selling for below retail on sites like StockX. Can turning to MJ’s college colors help the AJ1 gain back some momentum?

It’s early, but it was promising that the shock drop in early July generated a decent amount of buzz and seemingly sold out pretty quickly. It should also be noted that Jordan Brand has had success in the past when using the Tar Heels’ colors on the Air Jordan 1, as the UNC Air Jordan 1 High with Chicago color blocking in 2021 currently has an average sale price of $404 on StockX. The “Obsidian / University Blue” colorway from 2019 is also selling quite well on StockX, with an average sale price of $441.

Getting back to Saturday’s release, the shoe is very similar to that 2019 colorway, with black substituting for the obsidian in the previous release, university blue in the toe box and straight white leather stepping in for the sail leather from the 2019 release. The outsole is also university blue this time around with black laces, a black tongue with university blue Nike Air branding and a black insole with the same university blue Nike Air branding. The shoe will also come with a university blue box with black Nike Air branding, a reverse of the traditional black box with Bulls red Nike Air branding.

If you’re a UNC fan or alum, these will pair beautifully with any of your Tar Heels gear. And as Jordan Brand says on SNKRS, “What’s not to love about University Blue on an AJ1?”

As noted above, there seems to be slightly better sentiment around this release than some other recent Air Jordan 1 releases. Does that mean this sneaker will sell out quick and yield a strong return on the secondary market? Who knows, but as always you can’t go wrong with buying what you like. So, if you’re going for a pair, best of luck!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.