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New floor at The Bob sports new YoUDee look
3:21 p.m., Jan. 25, 2007--While the UD women's basketball team has been heating up the hardwoods at home and away, another group has been busy making sure that the home team and the home crowd really enjoy the home court advantage at the Bob Carpenter Center. Recently, a new floor, complete with an updated “competitive” YoUDee logo in the center court circle, was installed in the Frank E. Acierno Arena. “This is the first time the floor has had to be replaced,” Edgar Johnson, director of athletics, said. “It has given us 15 years of service.” The new YoUDee graphic on the new floor, installed by Horner Flooring Co., of Dollar Bay, Mich., is the work of Keith Heckert, an art director in the Office of Public Relations. Johnson said the new look has been well-received by fans at The Bob. “The design is more in keeping with the competitive nature of our programs,” Johnson said. “I like it, and the comments that I have gotten indicate that our fans like it, as well. It also shows up well on TV.” The competitive symbol of Fightin' Blue Hen sports teams also appears on all UD sports-related posters and other items, and also can be seen on the Delaware Field House and in Delaware Stadium, Heckert said. “We wanted to phase out the old look and were seeking a more competitive image,” Heckert said. “I designed the new competitive YoUDee right after Delaware's football team won the NCAA Division I-AA national football championship in 2003.” The new, 94 x 50-foot floor, including the competitive YoUDee design at center court, was constructed by Horner Flooring in Philadelphia, taken apart and reassembled at The Bob, Heckert said. According to its web site [www.hornerflooring.com/], Horner floors have been used at the NBA All-Star and NCAA Final Four games for more than 20 years. The company also supplies sports flooring systems for schools, colleges, universities, sports organizations, Olympic and international athletic governing bodies and private clubs worldwide. “The project, including the new YoUDee design, was initiated by Edgar Johnson and approved by [UD] President [David P.] Roselle,” Heckert said. “The image of YoUDee was painted from a stencil by Horner employees at a shop in Philadelphia.” Heckert's designs have appeared on the UD Marching Band truck, in UD football offices and team locker rooms in The Bob, as well as in the UD Bookstore in the Perkins Student Center. “Working on the new floor and other projects is fun,” Heckert said. “It's great to see your work appear on a larger scale, like the 70-foot banner celebrating the 2003 National Championship for the football team, and on smaller merchandise items that are available in the UD Bookstore.” From concept to completion, the installation of the new floor with the new YoUDee logo represents the combined efforts of many individuals and departments at UD, Johnson said. “Keith Heckert did a masterful job in designing the court graphics,” Johnson said. “Our purchasing department did wonders in getting the court for this season, and the Bob Carpenter Center staff did a great job in getting it down and ready for team practices and games.” Article by Jerry Rhodes |
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