In the SEC, the Court Just Looks Better

When the LSU women’s basketball team took the court for its SEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Oklahoma Friday, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey’s bedazzled basketball-print jacket had no competition for attention along the sideline.

Every other major conference weaves advertisements into its tourney, from event-level sponsorships to company logos on the hardwood—or LED-lit glass in the Big 12’s case this year. Even the Ivy League tourney is presented by TIAA. The SEC, however, has stayed comparatively clean. 

Instead, SEC logos are everywhere at the start of March. Center court. Baseline. Stanchion. Underside of the jumbotron. And almost everywhere else is the league’s logo: It Just Means More. 

It also looks better.

Business emblems have permeated pro sports—sewn onto jerseys, stamped onto equipment, digitally plastered behind players. Now they’re increasingly common in college too, where player pay has turned every dollar into a competitive advantage. The NCAA approved uniform patches in January, 18 months after allowing ads on college football fields. 

Individual SEC schools have seized those commercial opportunities. Arkansas just announced a patch deal with Tyson Foods to go with the on-field logo that was already present at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. 

But the SEC has seemingly decided it has enough money, for now at least. Its football championship field also didn’t have a sponsored component. One doesn’t appear to be coming for the men’s hoops tourney next week. Last year, the conference still distributed $1 billion in revenue to its 16 members, becoming the first league to claim 10-figure earnings (the Big Ten likely reached the same milestone, but its financials don’t drop until May).

There are still some ads at this week’s women’s tournament in South Carolina. A digital board between the coaches hawks Bush’s Beans, Johnsonville sausages and T-Mobile phone service. A small Allstate mark stretches behind the basket. PepsiCo surely pays for the Gatorade coolers loitering behind the benches. 

But those are exceptions that remind the audience just how rare the clean court is.

In February, countless Olympics watchers expressed their appreciation for the IOC’s (at this point only somewhat) clean venue policy. The Masters always stands out for its minimal sponsorships. Same goes for Wimbledon. Those events feel special because they are, turning down checks for a sense of sanctity. The NCAA itself has typically kept its tournament fields simple, too. 

The Southeastern Conference is basically one long video board away from entering that pantheon of viewer-first design, letting the athletes shine alone. But I’ll happily settle for just the occasional bratwurst ad.