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Iowa purchases basketball court used for 2026 NCAA Houston Regional Elite Eight

Danby: Daniel Hager05/15/26DanielHagerOn3

The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Friday that it has purchased the official court used in the 2026 NCAA Houston Regional Elite Eight. On that very court, the Hawkeyes lost to rival Illinois 71-59 with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

The former playing surface at Carver-Hawkeye Arena had not been replaced since 2016, meaning that an upgrade was definitely needed. Per Iowa Athletics, the parquet layout of the former court will be replaced with a modern, single-surface design.

Iowa provided a timeline for the arrival and installation of the new court. The floor will arrive in Iowa City between May 18 and 21, it will be sanded, prepped, and laid out anywhere from May 22-25, and will be painted, sealed, and dried anywhere from May 26-June 6. The court will be ready to go when Iowa begins basketball activities in August/September.

Iowa fell to Illinois in Elite Eight on newly purchased floor in Houston

The 2025-26 season for Iowa will forever go down as one of the most successful in school history. Led by first-year head coach Ben McCollum, the Hawkeyes posted a 24-13 (10-10) record and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. Following Tournament wins over No. 8 seed Clemson, No. 1 seed Florida, and No. 4 seed Nebraska, Iowa‘s season came to an end on what will now be its new court.

No. 3 seed Illinois downed the No. 9-seeded Hawkeyes 71-59 to advance to the Final Four, where it fell to No. 2 seed UConn with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line. Nonetheless, it was still a historic season for the rising program.

“From our lens, this group’s done a lot for the University of Iowa,” McCollum said following the Elite Eight loss. “It’s always hard right afterwards because, as a coach, you think about what you could have done better because it’s just the nature of your mind. And you’re sitting there, man, I mismanaged this, I did this poorly, I didn’t do this, trying to put your players in the best position to win and, you know, you don’t feel like you totally did.”

Ben McCollum will be heading into his second season at Iowa, fresh off signing a contract extension. The two parties came to an agreement on a new six-year contract, keeping the rising star with the program for the foreseeable future. Iowa now has its coach secured and its new court secured.