What's up with the Big 12 tournament's court? Fans pan design, but players see it differently

New York Times

12-03-2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12's court design has become a talking (laughing?) point this week at the conference's men's basketball tournament. Which seems to be what the conference is going for.
As part of commissioner Brett Yormark's mission to 'intersect sports and culture,' the Big 12 teamed with clothing brand Undefeated, which has five tally marks as its logo, to design the floor for its men's and women's tournaments at T-Mobile Center. Sticking with that theme, the Big 12, which uses Roman numerals for its logo, plastered XII(s) all over the floor in a style resembling a Magic Eye illusion. The reception has been less than favorable on social media — just search 'Big 12 court' on your app of choice — and with several fans in the arena.
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'It looks like my grandmother's kitchen floor,' said Lonnie Carpenter, a West Virginia fan who said it didn't look as bad in person as on television.
'I think it's too busy,' said BYU fan Dianna Robinson, a sentiment others echoed. Out of 10 tournament attendees polled during Tuesday's opening-round games, eight were not fans, and two liked it.
'I could see where it could play tricks on you the closer you were,' Kansas fan Dennis Vallejo said. 'From above, it looks amazing. You could see almost every detail from as high as we were.'
The Big 12 tournament floor looks like it's going to reveal a message to Nicolas Cage that helps him steal the Declaration of Independence. pic.twitter.com/sFJDZxw5dG
— Jordan Hamm (@JordyHamm) March 6, 2025
I wonder if Mr. Pitt is able to see the image hidden within the Big 12 Tournament court. pic.twitter.com/x9ATMfdZg5
— Erik Haslam (@haslametrics) March 11, 2025
Yormark's response to the criticism?
'It's become a national story. I love it,' Yormark told The Athletic. 'I love the chatter for sure, and you know, from my perspective, our goal is to really contemporize this conference, modernize it, connect with culture and really lean into current and future student athletes. And I can tell you, every student athlete that has gone on that court from starting last week to this week, they love it. And that's what it's all about. It's not about me. It's about our student athletes, and they've embraced it. And just from a fashion and lifestyle perspective, I think we nailed it.
Big 12 chief marketing officer Tyrel Kirkham is one of the league employees tasked with modernizing the conference. In 2022, the conference partnered with the clothing line Bathing Ape in a logo on the field at AT&T Stadium for the Big 12 football championship game, though that didn't take up quite as much real estate.
FIRST LOOK: Check out the Big 12 X BAPE logo that will grace the field at AT&T Stadium at the Big 12 Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/qG0NYTNzhL
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) December 3, 2022
'We've been looking at an opportunity to rebrand our basketball court,' Kirkham told The Athletic. 'Undefeated, being a very popular streetwear brand, a global brand based out of Los Angeles, and one that really resonates with the youth, we decided to bring them on as a collaborator for this court, and ultimately, between their logo on the baselines and the camo, which is very much part of their DNA, coupled with a design on the court, as we looked at sort of figuring out ways to creatively integrate our XII pattern, there was sort of the marriage of the two that created the court that we're playing on today.'
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Kirkham said the design was a collaboration between Undefeated, the conference staff and the Big 12's court manufacturer's design team.
'Collaboratively, we came together to create the court,' he said.
Next question: Did the Big 12 pay this company for the design, or did the company pay the league to have its logo on the baseline?
'We're strategic partners in this,' Kirkham said. 'There's brand equity in both. They want to be in sports. We want to be in lifestyle and culture. We want to provide a platform and a canvas for our student athletes to be proud of, which we're really thrilled (with) feedback that our student athletes and coaches, etc. have had with respect to the court, and Bathing Apes, the Undefeateds of the world help to legitimize it. (It) becomes somewhat of a recruiting tool and other just ways to create conversation within the younger community, and the Big 12 brand can resonate within those subsections.'
So that's how what looks to many like an AI-generated floor design came to be. It's not quite as bad in person as on television, but I prefer simple. Clean. Maybe I'm old. Maybe my eyes work. Maybe I'm just here for the basketball.
But college basketball is, as Kirkham said, about the youth. He reported that the athletes had been taking selfies with the floor. So I went to the players. Had they heard of Undefeated? What do they think of the court?
Among those polled, no one had heard of the brand, but they were all fans of the design.
'I think it's nice,' Kansas State redshirt sophomore Taj Manning said. 'It looks different on TV. On TV, it looked iffy. You see it in person, it looks way better.'
'I heard people are hating on it, but I think it's pretty cool,' Colorado sophomore Harrison Carrington said. 'I don't know what people are getting all mad about. I like the design.'
'It's different,' CU sophomore RJ Smith said. 'Unique. I haven't seen a court like that before. I know some people are hating on it, but I like it.'