Nebraska Redesigns Floor for New Arena

With Nebraska getting ready to move into its new Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Huskers have decided to revamp their floor design. An artist's rendering is available here via the Lincoln Journal Star. The signature feature is the use of different shades of shellac to create the state shape at center-court. Also, it appears that the "N" at center-court won't be as ginormous as it was in the Huskers' previous facility. (I hope Nebraska's move away from a huge logo starts a trend!) Thanks to frequent contributor Matt Rachmiel for this discovery.

Florida International's New Beach-Like Court

Now that the college national championships are over, I wanted to share a new design for next season (originally brought to my attention by Matt Rachmiel). The Miami-based Florida International University will have a court that looks like a painting of the beach, as shown here.

2013 Women's Final Four in New Orleans

With the men's Division I NCAA tournament continuing to use a standard floor design, the women's Final Four is the only opportunity each season to anticipate a wild, unusual, and/or creative court scheme (Denver 2012, Indianapolis 2011, and others).

The latest women's Final Four court, unveiled just a couple of hours ago in New Orleans, is certainly more artistic than the typical court, but perhaps a little more subdued than women's Final Four courts of the last few years.

The New Orleans court has a pretty typical "Final Four" logo at center court. The novel design features are located along both baselines, reaching into the keys. Probably the best-known symbol of New Orleans is the fleur de lis (or lily flower in French). What's on the court looks like an elaborate system of curls, growing out of a fleur de lis. If you look at the reddish image in the upper-right corner of this montage, you'll have an idea of what the women's Final Four court looks like.

UPDATE: Here's an aerial shot of the court.