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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Big logos mean big brand recognition for basketball schools
Big logos mean big brand recognition for basketball schools
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By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
You’ve seen ’em — the 31-by-28 foot Kansas Jayhawk, the stained state of Texas in College Station that stretches from key to key, the rousing red “R” at Rutgers, the arced “Tennessee” that takes several seconds to dribble through in Knoxville and the Longhorn in Austin that epitomizes its name.
The Gator in Gainesville is gargantuan. Arkansas’ Razorback is rangy. The Power Cat at Kansas State has a pervasive purple presence. Not to mention the daunting double T’s at Texas Tech or the giant Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket.
What happened to the simple center circle in basketball? The two big men who used to convene for the opening tip have been replaced by one big — and in some cases colossal — institutional logo.
There’s nothing wrong about it. But it has some people wondering about “court clutter.” Not only are the oversized institutional logos growing into a trend, but so are the instances of script court dedications, conference logos and commercial ads — all of which are allowed within the rules. In some arenas, though, it has produced more commercial than court.
Ed Bilik, secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, said so far, what institutions are doing is completely in bounds. The men’s and women’s rules committees restrict commercial logos to 8-by-10 areas located diagonally on each side of the court. Court dedications (or donor recognition) can go anywhere, as long as they don’t interfere with the lines. Conference logos are allowed in the key.
“But some schools now are running the institutional logos to where they almost connect with the three-point lines,” Bilik said. “It’s not an issue with the rules committees as long as the logo doesn’t detract from the visibility of any of the playing or boundary lines on the court.
“It’s a minority of schools that have exaggerated the logo rule, but I’d hate to see it become a game of one-upsmanship in design.”
Kansas was among the first schools to “go big.”
“Coach Bill Self and I decided that if we’re going to put the Jayhawk in, let’s make it as big as possible,” Athletics Director Lew Perkins told the Lawrence Journal World just after James Naismith Court was resurfaced in the summer of 2003.
Mission accomplished. KU’s big bird begat brand benefits.
“Last season Sports Illustrated did a two-page spread, an above-the-court photo of the Jayhawk as the ball was being brought down the court,” said Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony. “No way that picture is in there if the Jayhawk isn’t the size it is.”
Provisions for logos to exceed the parameters of the center circle didn’t show up until the 1999 version of the rules book. Since then, the rules committees have allowed the center circle and the division line to be “interrupted” by a solid shadow line, a broken 2-inch, solid 4-inch pattern line, or a similarly patterned shadow line. Bilik said the committees made the rule to accommodate institutional desires — the shadow lines don’t compromise the logo.
“In most cases, schools can do what they want and not lose the integrity of the logo,” he said.
The question may instead be whether the logos compromise the integrity of the lines. Bilik said to date the rules committees haven’t received any complaints from officials or visiting teams.
But “billboarding” center court isn’t for everyone. The C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum at Ole Miss got a court-lift last summer in which a tastefully sized “Power M” dots the center circle.
Athletics Director Pete Boone said the design team didn’t discuss a super-size option, partly because the intent was to brighten the arena (even the floor stain was changed to a lighter color). “We didn’t want to take away from the brightness of the court with a monster sign or image,” he said.
Boone said the logo size isn’t much of an issue in athletics director circles.
“It’s one of those ‘that’s your own business’ issues,” he said.
Speaking of business, Boone did say it was likely that Mississippi would in the near future take advantage of the commercial-logo opportunity the rules afford. “We will probably do that,” he said, “though it is another distraction on the court. But we have to do those things from a revenue standpoint.”
The Gator in Gainesville is gargantuan. Arkansas’ Razorback is rangy. The Power Cat at Kansas State has a pervasive purple presence. Not to mention the daunting double T’s at Texas Tech or the giant Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket.
What happened to the simple center circle in basketball? The two big men who used to convene for the opening tip have been replaced by one big — and in some cases colossal — institutional logo.
There’s nothing wrong about it. But it has some people wondering about “court clutter.” Not only are the oversized institutional logos growing into a trend, but so are the instances of script court dedications, conference logos and commercial ads — all of which are allowed within the rules. In some arenas, though, it has produced more commercial than court.
Ed Bilik, secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, said so far, what institutions are doing is completely in bounds. The men’s and women’s rules committees restrict commercial logos to 8-by-10 areas located diagonally on each side of the court. Court dedications (or donor recognition) can go anywhere, as long as they don’t interfere with the lines. Conference logos are allowed in the key.
“But some schools now are running the institutional logos to where they almost connect with the three-point lines,” Bilik said. “It’s not an issue with the rules committees as long as the logo doesn’t detract from the visibility of any of the playing or boundary lines on the court.
“It’s a minority of schools that have exaggerated the logo rule, but I’d hate to see it become a game of one-upsmanship in design.”
Kansas was among the first schools to “go big.”
“Coach Bill Self and I decided that if we’re going to put the Jayhawk in, let’s make it as big as possible,” Athletics Director Lew Perkins told the Lawrence Journal World just after James Naismith Court was resurfaced in the summer of 2003.
Mission accomplished. KU’s big bird begat brand benefits.
“Last season Sports Illustrated did a two-page spread, an above-the-court photo of the Jayhawk as the ball was being brought down the court,” said Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony. “No way that picture is in there if the Jayhawk isn’t the size it is.”
Provisions for logos to exceed the parameters of the center circle didn’t show up until the 1999 version of the rules book. Since then, the rules committees have allowed the center circle and the division line to be “interrupted” by a solid shadow line, a broken 2-inch, solid 4-inch pattern line, or a similarly patterned shadow line. Bilik said the committees made the rule to accommodate institutional desires — the shadow lines don’t compromise the logo.
“In most cases, schools can do what they want and not lose the integrity of the logo,” he said.
The question may instead be whether the logos compromise the integrity of the lines. Bilik said to date the rules committees haven’t received any complaints from officials or visiting teams.
But “billboarding” center court isn’t for everyone. The C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum at Ole Miss got a court-lift last summer in which a tastefully sized “Power M” dots the center circle.
Athletics Director Pete Boone said the design team didn’t discuss a super-size option, partly because the intent was to brighten the arena (even the floor stain was changed to a lighter color). “We didn’t want to take away from the brightness of the court with a monster sign or image,” he said.
Boone said the logo size isn’t much of an issue in athletics director circles.
“It’s one of those ‘that’s your own business’ issues,” he said.
Speaking of business, Boone did say it was likely that Mississippi would in the near future take advantage of the commercial-logo opportunity the rules afford. “We will probably do that,” he said, “though it is another distraction on the court. But we have to do those things from a revenue standpoint.”
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