Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament to feature an experimental electronic court

There are many defining features that the college basketball world could recognize in the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament. Elite programs rising to the top, some of the most talented players in the nation clashing in a do-or-die bracket format, or even the atmosphere of a nationwide conference congregating in one spot to witness some of the very best basketball that college hoops has to offer.

But in the last two years, everyone's focus will be glued to one thing. Not the players. Not the matchups. Not the scoreboard. Not even the coaches.

The Big 12 wants to make a splash, and in two consecutive seasons, they're doing it through innovation on the playing surface.

In 2025, it was the Louis Vitton reminiscent roman numeral XII decorating the gray floor. A dizzying pattern of letters that burned into the retinas of every viewer and left a permanent imprint which psychologists will be dissecting for decades to come. In 2026, the conference promises another once-in-a-lifetime basketball court experience in the form of a glass floor.

Yes, you read that correctly: a glass floor will play setting to one of the most competitive conference tournaments in college basketball. With a dynamic playing surface and programmable appearances, the participants will do battle on a massive screen, one capable of displaying any home court of every Big 12 team in the tournament, video transitions as teams score, and literally anything one could put their mind to.

Let us hope it's unhackable.

A fascinating concept, certainly, but one can't help but wonder if this gimmick carries much substance behind the flash. Is this the future of high-level basketball, or simply a snapshot in history?

I'm mostly concerned with what could go wrong when playing on a digital basketball court. Digital displays are prone to burning out, having dead pixels or panels (especially when enduring the weight and wear of over a dozen Division-1 basketball games), or being slightly different for the players themselves. Does the floor absorb stress identically to a traditional wooden floor? Does the ball bounce similarly? Will the floor be more slick with perspiration, or less slick -- and what does that mean for player safety when they inevitably fall throughout the tournament?

It will be a spectacle for sure, and one that will draw headlines in March. Is this more than an NBA Cup-style gimmick with little more value than distinguishment, or is this the future of the sport?