San Jose State's New Floor: Two Huge Logos is One Too Many

Via Matt Rachmiel and Uni-Watch, San Jose State has a new floor, shown here. As can be seen, the design features both the school's blue and gold Spartan helmet logo and, quoting from the linked article, a "quintet of the fabled Greek heroes stand[ing] armed and ready below mid-court, with four of their shields spelling out 'SJSU' and flanking the fifth shield with the athletic program’s logo." As if this weren't enough visual stimulation, the areas inside the three-point arcs are darkened, as well. Below is a schematic I created, of how one could incorporate all the same elements without overwhelming the viewer.

Bucks Go Back to the Future

The Milwaukee Bucks will go back to a floor design with the two giant M's, similar to what they had for parts of the 1970s and '80s (via Uni-Watch).

Meanwhile, the University of Richmond Spiders will shift to a more understated court design, including getting rid of the spider web in the background (via Uni-Watch and Matt Rachmiel).

UPDATE: Here's more on the Bucks' floor (via Uni-Watch).

Latest New Unveilings: UTEP and Binghamton

Court changes for the upcoming college-basketball season are coming fast and furiously. Via the "usual" sources (Matt Rachmiel and Uni-Watch):

• The UTEP Miners feature large pick-axes in the background of their new court. Fans sitting along either sideline will get to see a pick-axe right-side-up, but that also means they see the other one upside-down. The two pick-axes together form a box-like shape, which I think might distract from the pick-axes.
• Binghamton University (in the State University of New York system) has a time-lapse video of the painting of its new court (see second video down on the new page that comes up).

New Court for James Madison University

Via Uni-Watch and Matt Rachmiel, a wild new design for James Madison University.

New LSU Court

Via Uni-Watch and Matt Rachmiel, LSU has a new court design. I think the Tiger face in the background at mid-court may be a little subtle and abstract, but I like the rest of it.

Boise State's New Court

Via Uni Watch and Matt Rachmiel, Boise State will have a new court this upcoming season. In the past, the Broncos have had pretty wild, colorful courts. The new one, however, is fairly conventional.

Summer Updates: ODU, Cal, and UConn

Frequent contributor Matt Rachmiel has brought news of two three new court designs to my attention:

• Old Dominion is now the second school to my knowledge to put a state shape (in this case, Virginia's) at center-court, filled in with a symbolic logo. ODU's nickname is the Monarchs, but it is a lion monarch (perhaps the king of the jungle?) that is embedded within the state of Virgina. A visual depiction of the court is available here. The previous school to embed a logo in a state shape is East Carolina, which features a Pirate design within the shape of North Carolina.
• Cal has now joined the huge-logo club (for other members, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan gives the new Golden Bears' floor high marks, but I think the logo is too big. Brennan's article also contains a time-lapse video of the old floor being sanded-down and repainted.
• UConn has a new Husky logo, plus changes have been made to the keys (from solid blue to empty) and area between the keys and three-point arcs (from nothing to dark shellac). Click here for a new/old comparison.