MUScoop

Is this the first year they have made all of the courts uniform in the tourney?  I hate it.  Every court looks exactly the same no matter what stadium they are playing.

I find the uniformity slightly unnerving...  let's not show the character of each building.   ?-(

No last year was. Ans I don't mid it especially because they only have one three point line which doesn't get the guys confused. I will say that the paint looks stupid.

Quote from: jwalsh on March 20, 2010, 12:14:16 PM
No last year was. Ans I don't mid it especially because they only have one three point line which doesn't get the guys confused. I will say that the paint looks stupid.

Fair enough on the three point line but do they need to completely remove any hints to the original floor or the style?  Even the areas around the floor (press row, etc.) look the same.  Like cookie cutter homes.

Why is the original floor or style at all important? Uniformity is important for branding...which is what he NCAA is doing.

Talk about those stupid banners they hang with the teams name on it. They couldn't look more cheap.

It bugs me that the NCAA makes the Bradley center cover up ALL of its banners and advertising. All of the bucks banners and admiral banners have to be rolled up and can't be shown. Same with the miller lite and other advertisements in the building.

The NCAA being the business it is, I'm surprised they splurged to have 8 new courts made.

I do enjoy the bright blue carpets, that is something that really sticks out to me.

Was just talking about this yesterday.  Indeed, they look terrible.  

Sure, the games and video are forever branded with the NCAA (as if they need that) .. but what would be far better for their members?  Going back to the old system .. the courts were the host courts.

It's just a total traveshamockery that Marquette is hosting at the BC, yet NO WHERE does it say Marquette .. just a bland "Milwaukee" and "Bradley Center" at the two ends of the court.

All those host colleges should get their day on national TV, with their logos and court in full view.

Quote from: mu_hilltopper on March 20, 2010, 12:28:47 PM
Was just talking about this yesterday.  Indeed, they look terrible.  

Sure, the games and video are forever branded with the NCAA (as if they need that) .. but what would be far better for their members?  Going back to the old system .. the courts were the host courts.

It's just a total traveshamockery that Marquette is hosting at the BC, yet NO WHERE does it say Marquette .. just a bland "Milwaukee" and "Bradley Center" at the two ends of the court.

All those host colleges should get their day on national TV, with their logos and court in full view.

To be fair, doesn't it say "Marquette University, Host" on the scorers table, and the MU logo is on the floor at the end of each bench? And they let MU keep their banners up.

Though if it could be somehow more prominent that they are at MU, that would be cool.

Quote from: mu_hilltopper on March 20, 2010, 12:28:47 PM
Was just talking about this yesterday.  Indeed, they look terrible.  

Sure, the games and video are forever branded with the NCAA (as if they need that) .. but what would be far better for their members?  Going back to the old system .. the courts were the host courts.

It's just a total traveshamockery that Marquette is hosting at the BC, yet NO WHERE does it say Marquette .. just a bland "Milwaukee" and "Bradley Center" at the two ends of the court.

All those host colleges should get their day on national TV, with their logos and court in full view.

Disagree. The host cities/colleges have the potential to "get their day on national tv" by fielding strong teams in the NCAA or NIT. Ever been to the Masters? In my opinion, it's the best run tournament in all of sports. No marketing at all with the exception of the PGA and the tournament itself. Wanna buy a beer? How about a "draft" or a "lite." The beer sponsor cant even put its logo on the taps.

Yeah. It is uniformly bland.  The NCAA likes it that way.  There's several articles on this.  But they have a few court manufacturers make all the courts for all the games.  They feel this gives consistency in play and allows the NCAA to more prominently feature their corporate sponsors.  Apparently there's a 300+ page manual on the requirements for venues.  

There is a tiny host logo by the benches.  You have to pay attention to it.  

I think this is a horrible practice.  The court should be the court of the hosting team.  It adds a huge amount variety and not this monotone crap.  

I'd offer that it gives the host team an opportunity to showcase themselves.  But really, it's about money.  Host cities can make 8 million on tourism, for a cost of an 80-90k court.  
http://www.fastcompany.com/1588196/ncaa-college-basketball-tournament-march-madness-financial-impact

The courts are brutally ugly, yes it is about branding which is fine, but lets try for a 2010 look rather then a 1970's look!

Quote from: goodgreatgrand on March 20, 2010, 12:36:47 PM
Disagree. The host cities/colleges have the potential to "get their day on national tv" by fielding strong teams in the NCAA or NIT. Ever been to the Masters? In my opinion, it's the best run tournament in all of sports. No marketing at all with the exception of the PGA and the tournament itself. Wanna buy a beer? How about a "draft" or a "lite." The beer sponsor cant even put its logo on the taps.

No doubt there is the business end of things.  However, some people do care about the character of each building and would like to see it still displayed.

I compare it to baseball where each stadium as its feel and the NCAA demanding that each looks exactly the same.  Maybe a bit of a stretch, but similar.

Personally, I hate the uniform courts. All the games look the same. I also felt like the stripped down BC yesterday felt very generic and cold. Not to mention that I really enjoy seeing old game clips and knowing that the game was played at The Pit or The Omni or even The Bradley Center. When any college basketball fan sees that Boise State court, they immediately think of Tyus Edney going coast-to-coast. The generic courts take that away.

I agree.  It was always fun to see the different court designs at the different arenas.  Now they just have the boring generic blue and black design.

Al McGuire deserves to have his court on display for this tournament

Quote from: goodgreatgrand on March 20, 2010, 12:36:47 PM
Disagree. The host cities/colleges have the potential to "get their day on national tv" by fielding strong teams in the NCAA or NIT. Ever been to the Masters? In my opinion, it's the best run tournament in all of sports. No marketing at all with the exception of the PGA and the tournament itself. Wanna buy a beer? How about a "draft" or a "lite." The beer sponsor cant even put its logo on the taps.

That's goofy talk.  Under that rule, the host college could receive zero recognition if their team didn't make the dance -- or if they did horribly.  The host college should receive some publicity for their efforts, beyond how their team performs.  What's the point of hosting, if you get the same recognition as the other 63 teams?

The analogy with the Masters is far off the mark.  Everyone knows The Masters is synonymous with Augusta.  It needs no branding beyond The Masters.  These 8 host colleges, on the other hand .. no one knows who they are, unless they look it up on the internet -- or see the teeny tiny logo in the corner, likely being obstructed by 5 bench players standing upon it.

Oh, and poll added.

I agree it's an insult.  There's no need for them to take the thing over, removing any sense of local color.  And I especially appreciate where it says "BASKETBALL" right there in front of the scorers' table.  That was a really nice touch.  I mean, if you're removing every evidence of local color, you have to put something there, right?

"Hey fellas, we need to come up with something for the long end of the floor.  Any ideas?"
"How about: 'National Tournament'?"
"That's a real winner.  You guys?"
"How about: 'Welcome to the East Regionals'?
"Better. Not much.  Do we have any 'idea people' in this bunch, for crying out loud?"
"Why don't we get Reese's to sponsor an ad there.  We don't seem to have a problem with that during bowl season."
"Tell you what.  John, you and Fred there, you guys just come up with something. I don't care what it is.  Something people won't pay any attention to.  No ads."

I think you should add an "I could not care less" option to the poll. 

Its amazing how the NCAA controls everything in the venue.  Thought I was someplace other than the BC yesterday.  Oh well, its the NCAA's tournament.  BTW, there was an article last year about a Southeastern Wisconsin company that had the contract for several of these standard courts.

If MU made it to the Final Four or the Championship game, would you want the court to have Horizon League crap all over it?

No.

So if not at the Final Four, then why at 1st and 2nd round locations?

Hmm .. I could make an exception for the FF games. 

However .. the FF games are played in huge stadiums, meaning they aren't the home court of anyone.   Butler doesn't play in the "Lucas Oil Stadium" .. next years UofH and Rice do not play in Reliant Stadium .. Tulane doesn't play at the Superdome .. Georgia Tech doesn't play at the Georgia Dome. 

I guess I don't have a problem "standardizing" the floor (for FF) since none of these hosts are hosting at their home court.  They are hosts in name only. 

I suppose that's where the logic fails.  Half these sites (for regionals, etc) are NOT home courts. 

Well, I enjoy rooting for the underdogs. For a lot of the 14-16 seed teams, just making the tournament is monumental. If they upset a top seed, they go back to campus as heroes even if they get blown out in the second round. I think these teams deserve the full "feel" of the ncaa tourney....and playing on a court that says "ncaa" in the middle.....not Tulane's shield emblem is part of it.

Is this really that big of a deal? Someone even said it was "insulting"...wow.

Yes, the Bucks, Admirals, Miller Lite, and other entities had their signage covered up...they didn't PAY the NCAA for the exposure so they dont GET the exposure. Its simple business.

It is great that the NCAA tournament comes to Milwaukee every 4-5 years. Quit complaining about something so stupid. Its really not that big of a deal. Who cares?

Quote from: GOMU1104 on March 20, 2010, 05:19:34 PM
Is this really that big of a deal? Someone even said it was "insulting"...wow.

Yes, the Bucks, Admirals, Miller Lite, and other entities had their signage covered up...they didn't PAY the NCAA for the exposure so they dont GET the exposure. Its simple business.

It is great that the NCAA tournament comes to Milwaukee every 4-5 years. Quit complaining about something so stupid. Its really not that big of a deal. Who cares?

Just to be clear... not insulted.  I really don't care about marketing brands and what not.  My issue is that every court looks exactly the same.  They might as well be playing at "Generica Stadium".  You obviously do not care.  God bless.  I would like the "feel" of each stadium as I watch the game.

I love the highlights of NCAA games on the old MU/Bucks shared court. So much more character. At the BC this weekend, there are only tiny monograms by the benches, and the banner that says MU as the host is on the non-TV side. It's terrible. At least last year, they had school logos on the court itself.