CHAPEL HILL - Athletes used to smear on eye black to deflect the sunlight. These days, many stick it on to attract the spotlight. Dark adhesive patches bearing team logos and hand-written messages are quickly replacing traditional charcoal stripes on cheekbones across the country. N.C. State receiver Darrell Blackman pays homage to his Pennsylvania roots by wearing the area code "215" under his eyes. Wake Forest receiver Willie Idlette prefers using the "WF" insignia to help shade his gaze.

Then there's North Carolina senior receiver Jesse Holley, who told everyone he was "Jersey's Finest" during the Tar Heels' opener and that he was taking his game "2 The Limit" last Saturday against Virginia Tech. All without uttering a word.

"In college football, everything's real strict,'' Holley said. "You've got to have the same thing on, you have to wear the same gray gloves ... so you're always trying to find a way to do things to represent yourself, your hometown, a family member.

"The main thing: It's a way to stand out and bring out the individuality in each player."

Whether using burnt cork, cream, paraffin wax, temporary tattoos or medical tape, athletes have been painting stripes on their cheekbones to deflect the sun for decades.

Washington Redskins fullback Andy Farkas was pictured wearing some sort of eye black as far back as 1942. Eventually, Wisconsin-based Mueller Sports Medicine started manufacturing No Glare in the early 1960s after CEO Curt Mueller mixed up a vat of black paste in his basement and sold it in 3-ounce tubes and 1-pound jars.

"I've used [traditional eye black] since I was a pee-wee,'' said UNC offensive lineman Brian Chacos, who refuses to switch to the strips. "It's a habit; it's like putting on war paint, you could say."

Problem is, the stuff makes a mess. UNC coach John Bunting, a former NFL linebacker, didn't like to wear the goo except on extremely sunny days because it would get sweaty and get into his eyes. Wake Forest equipment manager Demetrius Gibson doesn't even order the old-school tubes, partially because it bleeds all over the uniforms.

Mueller was the first to solve that problem when it started producing No Glare Strips in 1993.

Then, three years ago, former college baseball player Peter Beveridge took it one step further when he started putting emblems on eye patches.

"I was watching a game on TV a few years before that, and noticed that players had migrated from eye black grease to the patch,'' said Beveridge, who lives in Maryland. "And I thought, 'Wow, that would be a great place to put a logo.' "

The football teams at Maryland, Virginia Tech and Miami were the first to test the product in 2003; back then, it was a temporary tattoo.

"It was like I had shown them what fire was,'' said Beveridge, whose patented design makes his company the only one that can put branding on eye black. "Players liked it because it looked cool. ... Equipment managers liked it because there wasn't the mess."

Last spring, the five-employee company switched from hard-to-scrub-off temporary tattoos to 1 3/4-inch stick-on patches that feel like Band-Aids.

Now, eyeblack.com's 3,000 customers include hundreds of high schools and colleges -- including the football teams at UNC, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Miami, Georgia Tech and East Carolina.

(N.C. State and Duke football players continue to wear Mueller's No Glare strips. The NFL and Major League Baseball use the strips, too.)

"It's a team thing, because so many guys are doing it,'' Blackman said. "But while everyone has their own little expression, you've got yours."

The cost of eyeblack.com's non-reusable patches range from $1.25 to 72 cents, depending on how many sets are ordered. Fans have started buying online, too.

"People sometimes say, 'It's a faddy thing,' '' Beveridge said. "But a fad dies out, and, in this case, the same teams are buying now that were buying then, and we're adding more.

"The beauty of the patch is that it's also fantastic for softball, lacrosse, field hockey ... and we're starting to see those teams order as well."

Players who wear the adhesive strips with pre-printed emblems say they like that option because it blocks the sun while showing school spirit.

"It helps when you're playing during noon games and afternoon games,'' said Idlette, one of about 30 Deacons wearing stickers with logos.

For others, printing their own messages on blank patches mixes function with self expression.

Before every Carolina game, assistant equipment manager Jason Freeman grabs a silver Sharpie and takes requests. Some Tar Heel players prefer the pre-printed blue "NC". Others prefer their area codes -- Heisman winner Reggie Bush of Southern Cal made that famous -- or initials, names and sayings.

Linebacker Larry Edwards, for example, has "Family" printed on one cheek, and "Faith" under the other. Running back Barrington Edwards sometimes wears "RIP Mike" to commemorate a cousin.

And then there's Holley, who is now barraged by requests from friends and family.

"I don't talk much on the field,'' said Holley, who wore his number "9" as a sophomore and "RIP Grandma" last season. "But every time somebody looks into your face, they feel, now, what you're feeling."