When there’s a stop in action during the NCAA’s March Maddness one St. Joseph company gets a little time on the court.
Hillyard’s Surefoot® mop is the official game day mop of NCAA Basketball. Randy Roth is the Eastern Zone Manager for Hillyard, Inc. He said Hillyard has been the official mop for the NCAA since 2013.
“It’s used when a player falls or it there’s a timeout they use the Surefoot to absorb any moisture or sweat that’s landed on the floor to keep the playing surface playable,” Roth said. “Basically it’s a mop to remove perspiration from the floor to keep the floor safe.”
He said the Surefoot was developed around 10 years ago.
“It was used kind of as a marketing tool. You’ve probably seen the big round mops that are still in use today. We made ours square so we could tell on TV that it was ours,” Roth said. “This made it more affordable for all the way down to the high school level for people to get a personalized game day mop that they could keep under the basket. When the players fall down you can easily address the moisture that’s on the floor with a high absorbent microfiber pad. It makes the game safer and keeps people from having to be on their hands and knees with towels.”
So, in between breaks Roth said to be on the lookout for a snapshot of a local business flooring it in the NCAA.
“Look really close during a timeout. They’re very quick shots. But if they players end up on the floor then the Surefoot will be brought out,” Roth said.
This isn’t Hillyard’s first involvement with basketball. Roth said Hillyard actually has an extensive history with the game.
“Our founder N. S. Hillyard developed the first modern wood floor coating. In the 1910s and the 1920s they used just an oil dressing to keep the wood from rotting but that wasn’t a very good surface to play the game on,” Roth said. “His son had a love for the game and for the sport so he developed the first wood floor coating, sports floor coating. It did a lot to change the game, it sped the game up. It made the floor much easier to play on.”
Roth said all of the mops used on the court in the NCAA are assembled in St. Joseph first.