Long Beach State's new beach-themed floor features four palm trees
Some of the non-traditional court designs that have popped up recently throughout college basketball turned out too garish for many fans' taste.
Long Beach State's, on the other hand, is distinctive without being overdone.
Since its campus is located three miles from the shoreline and its teams wear "The Beach" on the front of their jerseys, Long Beach State decided to give its basketball court a palm tree-themed makeover. Four palm trees frame the court, each in gold to reflect the look of a Southern California beach.
Long Beach State's revamped floor is further proof that the trend of unusual court designs in college basketball will not disappear anytime soon. Boise State football began the fad with its ubiquitous blue field, but the movement has infiltrated basketball during the past two years.
Oregon generated headlines nationwide in 2010 when it unveiled a controversial orange and tan fir tree-lined floor with a barely visible mid-court line at newly built Matthew Knight Arena. Next came Towson University's decision last summer to give its basketball court some orange watermark tiger stripes. Then last fall, Cal State Bakersfield installed an all-blue court and Northwestern flirted with the idea of going all-purple before sticking with a more basic design instead.
Long Beach State's design could have been as outlandish as any of those had the 49ers adopted one of the other proposed looks.
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