Big 12 tournament basketball games to be played on LED floor, designs can change in real time

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently teased some “big-time enhancements” coming to the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. One of those enhancements was revealed Wednesday, with the league announcing that those tournaments will be played on a “state-of-the-art full LED video sports floor” next month at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

In a partnership with ASB GlassFloor, the Big 12 basketball tournaments will mark the first time that this particular LED court technology will be used for official competition in the United States. The court is described as meeting the “standards of modern hardwood courts,” just with “integrated LED technology beneath the playing surface.” That technical jargon essentially means the court can display dynamic, interactive graphics, including changing the color and design of the court in real time. The Big 12’s announcement states that all of this can be done “seamlessly” and “without compromising performance, durability, or student-athlete safety.”

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The 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments this March at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City will mark the first time @asbglassfloor LED court technology will be used for official… pic.twitter.com/cteTPYpp1S

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) February 11, 2026

This new court comes one year after the 2025 conference tournaments featured a special — albeit static — court design with Roman numeral logos, which drew its share of attention and criticism. And comparisons to those Magic Eye, 3-D image illusions. (For what it’s worth, a lot of the athletes said they liked it.)

Yormark and the Big 12, which have worked to incorporate more entertainment and branding aspects into the hoops tournaments in recent years, are going a step further this time.

“Our goal at the Big 12 is simple: keep raising the bar,” Yormark said in a statement. “Elevating our league’s profile and adding real value to our programs requires a willingness to push boundaries.”

This same technology has been used during events at the NBA’s All-Star weekend in 2024, as well as international EuroLeague games and FIBA-sanctioned competitions. And other courts and playing surfaces in other sports utilize similar LED technology. Still, how this one looks, both in person and on TV, and if it has any impact on the athletes or gameplay, will be tracked.

Welcome to #NBAAllStar, where our state-of-the art LED court will shine all weekend long at Lucas Oil Stadium! pic.twitter.com/fpCmFm6oPv

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2024

The Big 12’s announcement states that the court will be used to “highlight new partnership opportunities” and can feature effects such as shot charts, animations after key plays and interactive games during timeouts. It’s unclear how or if the court might change during live game action. The Big 12 women’s tournament tips off on March 4 in Kansas City, followed by the men’s bracket on March 10.

“I’m excited about it,” Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self said in a statement. “I’m an old school guy, but this has me thinking of new school ways, and from what I’ve seen and heard, this is the wave of the future. I think it’ll be great.”