Hillyard named official floor coating and maintenance products provider of NCAA® basketball

Hillyard will be providing floor coatings and maintenance products for all 2019 NCAA Division I, II, and III Men’s and Women’s Championship games. Photo courtesy John Coffey.

By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post

While it cannot make any official predictions for the NCAA® basketball tournaments, a St. Joseph company can promise the floors will be ready.

Since 2013, Hillyard has provided the SureFoot® Game Day Mop, the official mop of NCAA basketball. Over the years, Hillyard, along with several other companies, has provided floor coating and maintenance products for the NCAA basketball championship games.

Vice President with Hillyard Companies Brett Carolus said they have been a partner with the National Association of Basketball Coaches for several decades. This year, they expanded their relationship to become the official and only provider of floor coating and maintenance products for all 2019 NCAA Division I, II, and III Men’s and Women’s Championship games.

“These floors, depending on the site, there are teams that go out, the floors are produced and Hillyard product is laid on top of the floors as the final finish and coating,” Carolus said. “Every floor in the men’s and women’s Division I will have a Hillyard floor coating on it. Without getting too technical… It protects the wood, it gives the players better traction and it provides the gloss that makes that floor look great, provides the squeak.”

Carolus said it’s an honor to be a part of the NCAA tournament.

“It’s an amazing event, the NCAA tournament is, I think, one of the best sporting events in the world,” Carolus said. “Hillyard has been a St. Joe company since 1907, since we were founded here, so, very proud of the fact that it’s a St. Joe business and our St. Joe employees in this community can be proud of participating in a great sporting event.”

Being involved with basketball is nothing new for Hillyard. According to Hillyard’s website, its founder, Newton S. Hillyard took on the task of improving maintenance of wood gym floors. In 1920, he built a new plant and office building in St. Joseph which also housed the largest wood gym floor west of the Mississippi River. He used it as a test site to perfect new wood gym seals and finishes.

For more information on the history of Hillyard and its connection with basketball, click here.