SMU Debuts New Retro B-ball Floor

Last year, ESPN called SMU’s basketball court one of the ugliest in the country. This year, SMU did something about it. About a week ago, they unveiled the new version — which looks like an old version. Very retro. Erik Herskind, a principal at Greenlight, the design firm responsible for the new floor, says they spent a lot of time looking through old ’50s-era issues of S.I., searching for inspiration for their retro design. They’ve kept the lines and graphics simple. Gone is the gigantic, garish pony at center court. Hello, classic, understated pony and the letters “SMU.” Too, you’ll see that the wood is a much darker stain (the color is called “Colonial Maple“). Older floors, Herskind says, looked darker because back in the day, they didn’t have the sealants we do now. As the floors aged, they darkened. Herskind says they also wanted to leverage the uniqueness of Moody Coliseum. Built in 1956, it’s one of the few intimate arenas like that in the country. So they put the arena’s name on the floor, too. The picture you see here, by the way, wasn’t taken at Moody. It was taken in Tennessee, where the floor was made.

Right now the floor has volleyball lines on it. Blech. But in two weeks, they come off. And the first home game is November 9. You know, so Pony Up.