Mizzou Athletics adds 2 more logos to Norm Stewart Court hardwood at Mizzou Arena
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- Mizzou Athletics added Central Bank and Mpix logos to Norm Stewart Court.
- Both sponsors are central Missouri firms with longstanding ties to MU.
- Deal brokered by Learfield underscores MU focus on local revenue and partnerships.
As Christmas approaches, a splash of red and green will be visible on the Mizzou Arena floor this year during Missouri Tigers men's and women's basketball games.
Mizzou Athletics announced Wednesday it added two additional sponsor logos to the surface of Norm Stewart Court, which will now feature the logos of Central Bank and photo-printing service Mpix. The court already displays MU Healthcare's logo on the sidelines along the length of the floor.
Both Central Bank and Mpix are headquartered in central Missouri and have longstanding ties to the university.
Central Bank, for example, offers customers Tiger Checking accounts, which include perks of 15% off apparel and merchandise at Mizzou's team store.
"Our partnership goes way back," said Mary Wilkerson, Central Bank's senior vice president of marketing. "We both go back to at least 1858, so we've been around for a long time together."
Wilkerson said the bank is in constant communication with MU about potential sponsorship deals, and this one happened to hit the spot. Ed Scavone, CEO of the bank's Boone County branch, said the partnership makes fiscal sense for both parties.
"The success of Central Bank is closely tied to the success of all the communities in which we do business," Scavone said in the release. "When they grow and prosper, we grow and prosper. The University of Missouri is by far the strongest driver of mid-Missouri's economic success and athletics plays a key role in delivering that message."
Mpix is based directly in Columbia, and is a division of Miller's Professional Imaging. CEO Richard Miller attended Missouri and ran on its track and field team.
A 2012 feature on the company by Sarah Redohl of the CoMo Business Times shared that Miller's office featured three Tiger statues, five footballs and three basketballs.
"Mpix and Miller's are proud to call Columbia home, and we take great pride in partnering with Mizzou Athletics to showcase our community's spirit and talent on a national stage," Miller said in the release. "This collaboration reinforces our belief in the power of teamwork, creativity and local investment - all things that make both our company and Mizzou special."
Learfield, the university's property rights holder, brokered the deals.
The sponsorships highlight MU's continued ambition to not just raise revenue, but to partner with local businesses. Since the 2024 football season, the school has featured logos of tool-rental company EquipmentShare and local insurance company Shelter Insurance at Faurot Field as well.
Missouri's next opportunity to put local brands front and center will likely come next year. In October, the NCAA Division I Administrative Committee introduced a proposal to allow schools to add two additional sponsor logos on jerseys, which experts expect is likely to be passed.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Mizzou Athletics adds 2 more logos to Norm Stewart Court hardwood at Mizzou Arena."