Final Four Floor At Mercer University

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Have you ever wondered what it takes to create those floors they play on for the NCAA basketball tournament every year or where they come from? The answer is right at your feet at Mercer University today.

A replica of center court of the Final Four Floor is on display outside the athletic department buildings in the Mercer Bears parking lot. The actual floor is sitting directly behind that replica, inside a tractor-trailer. The floor is being transferred across the country as it makes its way to the Georgia Dome this Friday.

Every year, the floors for the different tournament games are made in Michigan by a company named Connor Sports. Kurt Kosmowski, a representative for Connor Sports, said every floor they create takes about nine months to build and finish.

“This floor is specially created for the Final Four every year,” Kosmowski said. “The winning team that wins the event has an opportunity to purchase (the floor).”

Made from 200 pieces of Northern Michigan Maple trees, the four by seven foot pieces are pieced together in about four hours once they reach their final destination.

Connor Sports has been creating and touring the tournament floors since 2005.

Click here for a time-lapse video to watch the floor being created.