Arizona is bringing back its iconic ‘cactus’ logo to the McKale Center floor, and asking fans exactly how to do so.
The school posted four images of what the court could look like, all of which include at least one version of the cactus-and-sunset logo that became locally famous during the Lute Olson era before disappearing in 2009 when Sean Miller took over the Wildcats.
UA posted the four images to social media on Monday and asked fans to vote in exchange for their phone numbers and email addresses. Voting will end at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and the school confirmed that the prototype receiving the most votes would be the court design for next season.
Tony Daniel, Arizona’s senior associate athletic director of revenue generation and engagement, said UA Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois saw fans’ affinity for the retro logo and asked staffers how they could get it back on the court.
“We came up with these options and wanted to give the fans a vote,” Daniel said on ESPN Tucson’s “Spears & Ali” show. “We wanted our community, the Tucson community and Arizona basketball fans around the world to be a part of what the next court is going to look like. It’s been a fun project and we hope everyone likes the designs that we created.
“It’s been awesome to see the votes come in and all the discourse on social media about what the best one is and why it’s the best.”
The four finalist designs all feature Arizona’s primary “Block A” branding at center court. Two feature open dark-wood spaces in the middle of the floor, with smaller cactus logos adjacent to each free throw lane, on top of the lighter wood featured inside the 3-point lines. One of those also adds the outline of the state of Arizona around the Block A.
One of four court designs for McKale Center.
The outline of the state of Arizona around the Block A can be seen in this design option.
The two other options more prominently feature large cactus logos over lighter-wood areas near the midcourt Block A, one in a silhouette over the light wood and one in full color.
This court design features a large cactus logo in a silhouette over a light wood floor.
The one featuring a silhouette of the cactus logo has smaller full-color cactus logos also appearing next to each free throw lane; the large full-color cactus logo features two Olson signatures instead next to the free throw lanes.
Fans chose this court design, featuring large full-color cactus logo, to be on the McKale Center floor next season.
While silhouettes have become popular on college basketball floors recently, Daniel said the option with a large, full-color version of the cactus logo has become “the leader in the clubhouse” for votes.
All four designs include four sponsor logos and Big 12 logos in each free-throw lane.
Daniel said UA associate director of creative services Mike Baldwin is the “mastermind behind all of this,” having designed the new McKale Center court prototypes. Daniel said Arizona considered 20 to 25 options for the McKale floor.
“We went as crazy as painting the court all the way blue with the cactus logo ingrained somehow to something as simple as what you see today with the logo inside the 3-point arc,” Daniel said. “We ran the gamut of crazy and fun, but still preserving the history of what the cactus logo means to our fans.”
The UA cactus went away in 2009-10 in part because UA’s primary branding is the Block A and Miller preferred that logo stamping McKale’s center court. According to a 2009 story by the Star’s Greg Hansen, the cactus logo didn’t conform to university standards but had appeared via a special waiver granted presumably because of Olson’s preference.
During the 2009 change, the Block A replaced the old navy “Lute and Bobbi Olson” logo at center court, while a logo of Lute Olson’s signature appeared instead near the UA bench.
In recent seasons, Arizona’s cactus logo has reappeared on some athletic gear, including some tops worn by UA coaches, but it hasn’t been put back on the court since it left in 2009-10. The Arizona football team had the cactus logo as decals on its helmets for a homecoming game against Colorado. The helmet can also be used in EA Sports’ “College Football 25” video game.
Last season, the McKale Center floor featured a Block A at center court, plus two Olson signature panels, four sponsor logos and the two Big 12 logos.
McKale Center as seen from above during the UA-Duke game on Nov. 22, 2024.
“When fans are talking to us, they just remember about the great moments and history that the (cactus) logo brings,” Daniel said. “We’re hoping to bring that mojo back at McKale this season and beyond now that the cactus logo is back. ... It was an easy choice to find a way to get this back on the court. It was just a matter of how and when.”
