Is it excessive? Sure. But when it comes to excessive things in college sports venues, that train left the station years ago. College arenas have long been showcases of extravagance in countless forms, whether it's giant video boards and light shows, luxury suites, courtside club lounges, premium dining areas, custom architectural features, ornate concourses, themed student sections, or constantly redesigned locker rooms with spa-like amenities. In this environment, a high-tech floor doesn't seem like some wild departure -- it’s simply another expression of the same culture of spectacle that has shaped college sports for decades.
While surely expensive, it's not hard to see the benefits of the LED floor. A college could have different floors for its MBB, WBB, and VB teams, all swapped out at the touch of a button. If a team is having a special event -- like maybe a "throwback" game -- players could play on a retro court without having to invest in a new floor. You could create special video presentations to play during starting lineups or other presentations (similar to what many schools are already doing with
Luxedo Court Projection Systems). And of course, the advertising options would be limitless.
Is it ugly? I'll agree that the example shown in the post at the top of the thread isn't particularly attractive. But that's just the design they chose. With a Glassfloor LED court, the surface can be literally anything you want it to be. It could look exactly like what any school already has. The NBA used an LED floor for an All-Star game a couple of years ago, and I thought the court (pic below) looked sharp. (That said, the court designs used for the 3-point contest and the dunk contest were a bit gaudy ... but the beauty of the system is that they were able to easily create a unique look for a one-time use.)
To conclude, I'm not necessarily advocating that any school should invest in an LED court (I still have questions about how well they hold up over time), but it seems like some of the pearl-clutching happening in this thread is a bit over the top.