Huge Center-Court Logos

This weekend's theme is the huge, outsized, ginormous, center-court logo. Not that many college or pro courts have such displays, but you know it when you see one. One of the best-known logos of this genre, if not the best known, resides at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome. I've put together a little montage of the orange "S" over the years.


The "S" has always been pretty large, although it looks to me like it's grown a little in its most recent incarnation. What really gives the court visual overload, in my opinion, is the insertion of the bold "SYRACUSE" above the "S" (instead of the "Syracuse University" off to the side of center-court). Another feature of the court that's varied over the years is the color of the key, which has been royal blue, dark blue, and now, orange. (The sources for the above photos are here, here, here, and here.)

By no means is Syracuse alone, however. Clemson's tiger paw takes up quite a bit of floor space. Nor does a school have to be in a major Division I conference such as the Big East or ACC to have a huge logo. Saginaw Valley State has this interesting Cardinal design. I don't know about you, but because it's only an outline, I don't find it as overwhelming as a fully painted-in logo would have been.

Rachmiel on Court Designs (Part 3)

This is the third and final installment of Matt Rachmiel's comments on the schematic depictions that can be accessed at the heading "All NCAA Court Designs" in the links section to the right. Throughout this series, Matt has been identifying what he believes to be inaccuracies in these court depictions. For the conferences Matt has discussed earlier and to see his explanations of terminology, see Part 1 and Part 2 of the series. Here's the final set...

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE

Austin Peay: no blank center court; "Dave Loos Court" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; "NCAA" on one sideline
E. Illinois: conf logo at foul line, not in key
E. Kentucky: conf logo on court
Jacksonville St: conf logo, not "OVC" at foul line
Morehead St: large logo at center court; no paint; NCAA Basketball logo on court; no conf logo on court
Southeast Missouri St: parquet floor; "Show Me Center" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; "Southeast Missouri State" on sidelines, not on court
Tenn-Martin: "Pat Head Summit Court" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; no "UTM" at foul line; no logo on court; no blank baselines
Tenn St: half circle behind foul line only painted; conf logo on court, no "OVC" at foul line; volleyball lines; no blank baselines
Tenn Tech: large logo at center court; conf logo on court

PAC 10

Arizona St: There is a new design either this season or last season, with, I believe, "Ned Wulk Court" either on the court or on one sideline [Editor's note: Some online photos of the court are available here and here, but they're apparently too small to make out any fine print]
Stanford: My notes have volleyball lines on the court, but I believe they were recently removed
UCLA: "Nell & John Wooden Court" on court
USC: inverse painted; "Jim Sterkel Court" on court; "Galen Center" on one baseline
Washington: large logo at center court; conf logo in key
Washington St: parquet floor

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Bucknell: "Sojka Pavilion" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on baselines; no logo on court
Colgate: volleyball lines
Holy Cross: large logo on court; half circle behind foul line only painted; one blank baseline
Navy: parquet floor; "Dave Smalley Court" on court; no blank baselines

SEC

Alabama: "Crimson Tide" on court, not on sidelines; "SEC" at foul line, not on court
Arkansas: "SEC" at foul line, not on court
Auburn: "SEC" at foul line, not on court; "Auburn" on sidelines; no blank baselines
Florida: "SEC" on one sideline
LSU: key painted; "Cox Communications" on court; "SEC" at foul line; blank baselines; "Pete Maravich Assembly Center" on one sideline [Editor's note: LSU was on TV last night, hosting Florida; as shown in this photo, the key is no longer painted in, but the semi-circle above the free-throw line is filled in with yellow]
Ole Miss: no paint; conf logo in key, not on court; "The University of Mississippi" on one sideline
Miss St: "Mississippi State" on one sideline only, not both
S. Carolina: "University of South Carolina" on court; "Colonial Center" on court; no "Carolina" on sidelines

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Coll of Charleston: no paint; conf logo in key, not on court
Citadel: no blank baselines; no "Bulldogs" at foul line
Davidson: conf logo on baselines
Elon: conf logo on court, not at foul line
Furman: conf logo on court
Ga Southern: no paint; volleyball lines; "Georgia Southern" in key; no "Hanner Fieldhouse" on court
UNCG: logo on court
W Carolina: conf logo on court
Wofford: parquet floor

SOUTHLAND

Lamar: key painted; no "Southland" at foul line
ULM: large logo at center court; "Warhawks" on court; conf logo at foul line, no team logo at foul line; no "University of Louisiana" on sidelines; no blank baselines
McNeese St: conf logo on court, not at foul line; basketball at foul line; "Southland" at foul line; no "Cameron State Bank" on court
Nicholls St: "Colonels" on court; volleyball lines; conf logo in key, not at foul line
Northwestern St: key painted; flames from baseline; "Lady Demons" on court; conf logo at foul line; no blank baselines
SHSU: no paint; volleyball lines; no blank baselines
SE La: no paint; volleyball lines; "Southland" in key, no team logo in key
SFA: key painted; no "Southland" at foul line; "Stephen F. Austin State University" on sidelines
Texas-Arlington: "Southland" at foul line; "Texas Hall" on sidelines
UTSA: volleyball lines; conf logo under basket, not in key; "The University of Texas at San Antonio" on sidelines; no "UTSA Covocation Center" on court
Texas St: volleyball lines; conf logo in key, not at foul line

SWAC

Alabama A&M: "SWAC" on court
Alabama St: "Alabama State" on court; no "Hornets" on court; volleyball lines; NCAA Basketball logo at foul line; no blank baselines
Alcorn St: no blank baselines; no "Braves" on sidelines
UAPB: "UAPB" on court; conf logo at foul line; no blank baselines
Grambling: volleyball lines
Jackson St: parquet floor; conf logo on court
MVSU: key painted; logo on court; volleyball lines; no blank baselines
Prairie View: key painted; logo on court; conf logo on court; "NCAA" on court; no blank baselines
Southern: key and inverse painted; "Jaguars" on court; NCAA Basketball logo at foul line
Texas Southern: key painted; conf logo on court; no blank baselines

SUN BELT

UALR: "Jack Stephens Center" on court, not "Stephens Center"
Arkansas St: conf logo on court, not in key; no basketball at foul line; no "Indians" on court [note, the school changed its nickname to Red Wolves]
FIU: NCAA Basketball logo on court; no blank baselines
ULL: "Ragin' Cajuns" at foul line
New Orleans: no parquet floor; no logo on court; conf logo on court
North Texas: "Wells Fargo" on court; no "University of North Texas" on court
South Alabama: inverse painted; "Mitchell Center Mobile" on court; "University of South Alabama" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; blank baselines
Troy: basketball at foul line; no blank baselines; no conf logo in key

WCC

LMU: no paint; logo on court; "WCC" on court; volleyball lines; "Lions" on one sideline
Pepperdine: conf logo on court; no blank baselines
Portland: key and inverse painted; "University of Portland" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; "Chiles Center" on sidelines; no blank baselines
St Mary's: key painted; "Gaels" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court
San Diego: "WCC" on court

WAC

Boise St: large logo at center court; inverse painted, no large logo in 2 point area; "Northwest Dodge Dealers" on court; logo in key
Fresno St: conf logo at foul line, not on court; no blank baselines
Hawaii: "WAC" on one sideline, not on court
Idaho: no "Northwest Dodge" on court
La Tech: Large logo at center court; multi-color key; "Karl Malone Court" on court; "Bulldogs" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; no "Louisiana Tech University" on sidelines
Nevada: "Nevada" on court; no "Wolf Pack", "AT&T" or "Lawlor Events Center" on court; "WAC" on sidelines
New Mexico St: "Lou Henson Court" on court; conf logo in key; no basketball at foul line; no blank baselines

That concludes my discrepancies between the courts shown in the video game link on your blog and the courts shown in College Hoops 2K8. Obviously, new Division I Independent teams remain to be commented upon, e.g. North Dakota, South Dakota, SIU-Edwardsville, etc.

Michigan State's Numerous Logos

While watching yesterday's Wisconsin at Michigan State men's game on TV, I noticed how MSU is able to include a large number of logos and word-marks on its court without -- in my opinion at least -- creating visual overload. As can be seen at this link (plus an additional link to "Photo Gallery"), the Breslin Center court displays the following:

"MICHIGAN STATE" along the baselines;

the word "SPARTANS" and the soldier logo in the keys;

a big "S" at center-court; and

the state outline, with the word "State" superimposed, in the upper-left and lower-right positions relative to the center circle.

One definition of the word "spartan" is: "simple, frugal, or austere." Not on this court, though!

BracketBusters Court Logo

The last two days have seen the annual BracketBusters event in college basketball. Roughly 100 teams from "mid-major" conferences take a short break from league play, as they are paired off to each play a nonconference game. The aim is to give each participating team the opportunity for an additional quality win to help their prospects for getting into the NCAA tournament. Not surprisingly in this era of extensive court decoration, there is a BracketBusters logo, which appeared on the courts at these games.


(I did a screen-capture of a freeze-frame of ESPN.com's online highlights of the Utah State-St. Mary's game.)

Rachmiel on Court Designs (Part 2)

Guest contributor Matt Rachmiel has been reviewing the schematic depictions of NCAA Division I courts from an online compendium (available where it says "All NCAA Court Designs" in the links section to the right). Matt has been painstakingly examining the depictions and pointing out what appear to him to be inaccuracies. In Part 1, he summarized the conferences ranging alphabetically from America East to Big West (and also defined his terminology). Here's the next set of conferences:

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Delaware: Logo on court; "Bob Carpenter Center" on court; key only painted
Drexel: Half circle behind foul line only painted; logo on court; volleyball lines
George Mason: "Mason Nation" on court
Georgia St.: volleyball lines; key painted
William & Mary: "Kaplan Arena" on court

CONFERENCE USA

Houston: logo on one sideline
Marshall: conf logo in key, not on court
SMU: key painted; "Moody Coliseum" on court; "Dallas, Texas" on court; conf logo at foul line; no "SMU" at foul line
So. Miss.: inverse painted; no "Golden Eagles" on sidelines
Tulane: no paint; "Tulane" on court; no logo on court; volleyball lines; conf logo in key
Tulsa: half circle behind foul line only painted
UCF: no paint
UTEP: key painted; conf logo at foul line, not in key

HORIZON LEAGUE

Cleveland St.: large logo at center court; conf logo at foul line; no basketball at foul line; "CSUVikings.com" on sidelines [note, this is a rarity among college courts and may be the only one; it is common among NBA courts]
Detroit: no "Callahan Hall" on baselines
UIC: parquet floor
Loyola (IL): logo on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court
UWM: no conf logo on court
Wright St.: painted key
Youngstown St.: no "Beeghly Center" on court; conf logo on baselines, thus no blank baselines

INDEPENDENTS [note, some of these teams have since joined conferences]

North Dakota St.: "Art & Norene Bunker Court" on court; Summit League logo at foul line
No. Colorado: key painted; large logo at center court; Big Sky logo at foul line; no "Northern Colorado" on sidelines
Savannah St.: blank center court; no paint; logo on court, but not at center court; volleyball lines; "Tiger Pride" on one sideline
South Dakota St.: Summit League logo at foul line
Texas Pan American: "IBC" on court; "NCAA" on court; volleyball lines; "Texas Pan American" on sidelines
Texas A&M CC: Inverse painted; NCAA Basketball logo on court; "American Bank Center" on one baseline, but not on court; "Islanders" on one sideline
Cal-Davis: key only painted; "Go Aggs!" on court; Big West logo on court; basketball at foul line; logo on one sideline
Utah Valley St.: inverse painted

IVY LEAGUE

Brown: entire 2 point area painted; logo in corners [such as at North Carolina]
Columbia: blank center court; logo on court; no blank baselines
Cornell: "Cornell" on court, conf logo on court
Dartmouth: conf logo on court
Harvard: blank baselines
Penn: conf logo on court; "Ivy League" on one baseline
Yale: large logo at center court; inverse painted; conf logo on court

METRO-ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Canisius: "Canisius" on court [Editor's note: Going back to when I (Alan) lived in Buffalo in the nineties, Canisius has played an occasional game at HSBC Arena]
Fairfield: "Arena at Harbor Yards" [plural, not singular] on court
Iona: no paint; "Gaels" on court, not "Iona College"; conf logo in key, not on court
Loyola (MD): conf logo on court, not in key; "MAAC" at foul line; no basketball at foul line; no blank baselines
Manhattan: "MAAC" at foul line, not on court; no blank baselines
Marist: conf logo at foul line, not on court
Niagara: "Niagara University" on court; no "Gallagher Center" on court; conf logo on court
Rider: key painted; logo on court; conf logo at foul line; no "Rider University" on court
St. Peter's: no paint; no blank baselines; "Peacocks" and "Peahens" on court [note, another rare example where both the men's and women's teams' nicknames are on the court]
Siena: blank center court; "Siena" on court, but no logo on court; no "Pepsi Arena" on baselines

MID-CONTINENT CONFERENCE (now the SUMMIT LEAGUE)

Chicago St. (now an Independent): key painted; NCAA logo on court; no blank baselines
IUPUI: "The Jungle" on court; basketball at foul line; blank baselines
Oakland (Mich.): conf logo at foul line
Oral Roberts: conf logo at foul line; no "Mabee Center" on court
Southern Utah: blank center court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; "Southern Utah University" on sidelines
UMKC: "UMKC" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; "Kansas City Missouri" on baselines; "Municipal Arena" on sidelines; "Kansas City" on court
Valpo: Large logo at center court, not on court; no paint; conf logo at foul line; "Valparaiso" on sidelines
W. Illinois: parquet floor; conf logo on court

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Ball St: blank center court; logo on court; no "Cardinals" on court; no conf logo in key; no "John E. Worthen Arena" on sidelines
C. Michigan: no paint; conf logo on sideline, not on court
E. Michigan: no paint; conf logo on court, not under basket; no basketball at foul line; no "NCAA" or "Eagles" on sidelines
Kent St: no paint; conf logo at foul line, not on court
NIU: "Convocation Center" on court; conf logo on court, not at foul line; logo at foul line
Ohio U: "The Convo" at foul line; no conf logo at foul line
Toledo: no paint; conf logo on court
W. Michigan: large logo at center court

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Coppin St: key painted; "MEAC Sports" at foul line; no blank baselines
Delaware St: inverse painted; "MEAC" on court; basketball at foul line; no "Delaware State University" on sidelines
FAMU: no blank center court; "MEAC Sports" on court; volleyball lines
Hampton: logo on court; no "Pirates" on court
UMES: volleyball lines
Morgan St: no paint; basketball at foul line; volleyball lines; no blank baselines
Norfolk St: no paint; "MEAC Sports" on court; no "NSU" on court; volleyball lines
NC A&T: [note, I have a different court altogether, but the court shown is most likely a recent change because it includes the name of the court on the court itself]
S Carolina St: "SC State" on court; volleyball lines; "MEAC" in key

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE

Bradley: no "Peoria Civic Center" on court
Drake: logo on court; no "Drake" on court; no conf logo at foul line; "The Knapp Center" on baselines
Evansville: "Roberts Stadium" on court
Ill St: conf logo on court, not at foul line; "Redbird Arena" on sidelines
Ind St: "Hulman Center" on sidelines
Missouri St: "John Q. Hammons Student Center" on court; "Missouri State" on court; conf logo at foul line; no blank baselines
UNI: "Robert J. McCoy Court" on court; no logo on court; no "McLeod USA" on court; no "Northern Iowa" on sidelines
SIU: "Harry L. Crisp Sr. Court" on court [note, I saw this court on TV last week and didn't notice it, so it may have been removed]

MOUNTAIN WEST

Air Force: no paint; "Clune Arena" on court; conf logo at foul line, not on court; no blank baselines
BYU: key painted
New Mexico: no paint; "University of New Mexico" on court; "Bob King Court" on court
UNLV: no paint; no "Thomas & Mack Center" on court
Utah: conf logo on court, not at foul line
Wyoming: no blank center court; no paint; no logo on court; no blank baselines

NORTHEAST

CCSU: "Blue Devils" on court; no "Central Connecticut State University" on sidelines
FDU: no "Knights" on court
LIU: key painted; volleyball lines; conf logo in key; no blank baselines
Monmouth: conf logo in key, not at foul line
Mt St Mary's: inverse painted; "Coach Jim Phelan 1954-2003" on court
Quinnipiac: "Quinnipiac Bobcats" on court; "Lender Court" on court; no blank baselines
Robert Morris: no paint; volleyball lines; conf logo in key; no blank baselines; no www.rmu.edu on court
Sacred Heart: parquet floor; "Sacred Heart University" on court
St. Francis (NY): key painted; "Terriers" on court; no "Peter Aquilone Court" on court [note, the design shown may be a recent change]
St. Francis (PA): key painted; volleyball lines; conf logo in key; no blank baselines
Wagner: parquet floor

Texas vs. Texas A&M Rivalry Logo

While watching the television broadcast of last night's Texas at Texas A&M men's basketball game, I noticed a logo on the floor that is only used for Longhorn-Aggie athletic contests. UT and A&M have given an official name to their rivalry, the Lone Star Showdown. Any time the two schools meet in any sport, the winner earns points that are added up across sports at the end of the academic year. In addition, a Lone Star Showdown logo is shown on the playing field/court for some (if not all) other sports, including football (the adjoining photo, from a previous year's Longhorn-Aggie hoops battle, is from the Wikipedia page on the Showdown, cropped to highlight the logo by the referee).

Even though I'm based in Big 12 country (I'm a faculty member at Texas Tech) and watch a lot of men's and women's conference basketball, I had not noticed the logo until last night.

Other schools have similar rivalries. For example, UCLA and USC have a competition known as the Lexus Gauntlet (South), whereas Stanford and Cal have a northern California version of the Gauntlet, as well. I also watch a lot of Pac-Ten hoops (UCLA is my undergraduate alma mater), and I don't recall ever seeing a basketball floor decal for one of these rivalry games.

Phoenix's Court for NBA All-Star Weekend

When an NBA team gets to host the all-star game and festivities, it will create a special floor for the occasion that is a more garish version, to some degree, of its usual floor. Shown above is what Phoenix has come up with this year. This court made its debut last night with the all-star rookies vs. sophomores game (I got this image from the shot tracker of the rookie-sophomore game, de-selecting the symbols for made and missed shots; actual photographs from the game are available here).

Below is a little collage I put together of the floors from recent years' all-star games (click on photos to enlarge). The 2007 event was held in Las Vegas, which doesn't have an NBA team, so there is no regular team court to compare it to. The host cities in the upper two photos are identified along the courts' baselines: New Orleans (2008) and Las Vegas. Lower-left is Houston (2006), whereas the lower-right is from Los Angeles (2004; the photo is from the rookie-soph game). The original sources for these photos are: N.O., L.V., Houston, and L.A.