The Recreation and Athletic Center’s main court underwent a complete renovation this past summer after significant damage from a leaking water boiler last December, just after the volleyball season ended.

The athletics department had a temporary court installed over the damaged court so that the space could still be used for the normal RAC activities and club sports. The RAC sports, volleyball, basketball and the stunt team, use the gym most frequently and therefore utilized either the temporary court or practiced in the Alumni Gym during the remodeling process.

To go about this process, Jesse Blanchard, St. Edward’s sports information director, talked to the head coaches of the main RAC-using sports to get a sense of what they wanted in the new court. He was in charge of the whole process, including the aesthetics of it. Blanchard noted that head coaches of volleyball, basketball, and stunt said that what was most important to them was “clean, defined lines” and imagery that represented St. Ed’s culture. 

Blanchard said that for him, a visual of the Austin skyline was “nonnegotiable,” since the Austin city-life is a big selling point for what makes the university what it is today. The team also wanted \the iconic red doors on the court, since they represent one of the university’s most important traditions, the Legacy Walk. 

After finalizing the design, the construction team worked throughout the summer, completing the new court in August — just in time for the students’ arrival to campus and the start of the fall season.

The court displays Main Building’s iconic red doors and a grey silhouette of the Austin skyline, as well as landmarks such as the Pennybacker bridge and buildings from the Austin city skyline. Austin city-life is a large part of what students like about being on campus, so it is important for students and athletes to see this represented in every-day spaces around campus. The court has clean, blue lines and a Lone Star Conference logo in white. The immediate focal point, however, is Topper, the school mascot, displayed largely at center court.

Junior volleyball player Jaiden LaVanway says that she thinks the new court is “pretty” and she likes how designers “incorporated the Red Doors” on the court since they are such a vital part of the St. Edward’s campus culture. The symbols on it promote school spirit and pride within students, athletes and staff.

Many like this court better than the previous one for its aesthetics; the old court had no skyline or any sort of imagery, and had white lines instead of blue ones. This court represents the campus culture of St. Edward’s, which the old court had none of. Creating a new court in the RAC center was a big investment, but has been a success since it was built.