UIW will upgrade the McDermott Center with a new floor

Incarnate Word coach Carson Cunningham expresses his frustration after a call during a 90-64 loss to Northern Colorado on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018.

UIW men’s basketball coach Carson Cunningham. –Photo by Joe Alexander.

The University of the Incarnate Word announced Tuesday that it will upgrade the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center with the installation of a new floor, thanks to a partnership with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital System.

To honor the generosity of the donor, the basketball/volleyball court will carry the organization’s namesake (CHRISTUS Court), with branding on the surface, according to a news release from the UIW athletics department.

The project will include installation of a 12,000 square-foot floor with better grade maple and will include a new subfloor system. The new court will also have an enhanced design for a more aesthetically pleasing look.

Installation is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2019, according to the release.

UIW men’s basketball coach Carson Cunningham called it a “fantastic” development for the school’s student-athletes.

“For a student-athlete’s body, the benefits of a state-of-the-art floor, one with excellent resilience, cushioning and durability, are plentiful and long lasting,” Cunningham said.

The cost of the project wasn’t made public due to a confidentiality agreement between the private entities, a spokesman said. But the release said it was the fourth-largest donation in UIW athletics history.

UIW athletics teams compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Southland Conference.