Could NCAA Tournament be a ‘Battle in the Bubble’? KU’s Self on that, Late Night, more
The NCAA has filed a trademark application for the phrase “Battle in the Bubble,” which is a clear indication some of the organization’s sports — possibly men’s basketball — could play within a self-contained setting this school year similar to the NBA’s current postseason setup for the playoffs.
The filing, according to ESPN.com and trademark attorney Josh Gerben, was made last Wednesday by attorney Douglas Masters with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark phase, according to filing No. 90138207, could be emblazoned on “clothing, namely sweatshirts, sweatpants, shirts, pants, T-shirts, shorts, dresses, skirts, jackets and athletic uniforms, headwear, footwear.”
The bubble for the annual postseason NCAA Tournament is a concept that’s been discussed by NCAA president Mark Emmert and vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt.
It’s conceivable the entire 2021 NCAA Tournament could be played under the “Battle of a Bubble” logo in one city, with perhaps a reduced number of teams competing for the title if the COVID-19 pandemic remains a problem in March 2021.
“I can see somebody doing that (filing trademark) from a possibility standpoint, even if it’s not definite there will be something like that,” KU coach Bill Self told The Star Monday after participating in his annual Bill Self Golf Classic to benefit the Boy Scouts of America, Heart of America Council, at Lawrence Country Club.
“It also shows as of today it’s very up in the air what direction this will all go. I will not read into that — that it means we are definitely going to play in a bubble in the NCAA Tournament. I’m reading into it in case we are forced to do that, the NCAA will be prepared,” Self said.
Self actually envisons a scenario in which a bubble involving several teams could be used to salvage the 2020-21 non-conference season, if the coronavirus makes it otherwise impossible to play the non-conference schedule as currently planned.
“I think it’s very intriguing to, say, take 10 teams to a bubble and play six games over a 10-day period, teams playing each other, but not everybody plays each other,” Self said. “Or you could take eight teams to a bubble, all be neutral site games, and play five games in let’s say nine days.
“If our schedule gets disrupted to the point we are basically starting from scratch, I could see us being part of a bubble and find it very intriguing on the type of talent and type of games you could play within the bubble.”
In Self’s example, KU could complete as many as six non-conference games in just a week and a half.
He said the bubble could “be anywhere — Orlando, Kansas City, Dallas … South Dakota, the Pentagon (in Sioux Falls, S.D.).”
Self said if the season starts as planned with the Champions Classic on Nov. 10 in Chicago, “everybody will try to play their season as scheduled. If it doesn’t I could see the possibility of a bubble during the regular season being pretty intriguing.”
While Self said he believed KU easily could host a bubble pod in Allen Fieldhouse, he does not recommend that approach for Big 12 Conference games.
“I’d go ahead and play the conference season as-is,” Self said. “You’d have to fly some places, at least in our situation, but if you wanted to do a bubble for your conference games, I don’t know how we would do that.”
It’s been suggested teams such as Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech could visit Lawrence for a weekend and later the same teams could congregate in Texas to complete, say, six games of a conference slate at just two sites.
“I don’t like the conference games being in a bubble as much as I do non-conference games being in a bubble because in non-conference you play everybody just once. In conference games we play everybody twice, so I don’t know that would be possible — a bubble in conference. In any single-elimination type event, I think the bubble could conceivably work,” Self said.
Self said “I don’t know” when asked if he thought the 2020-21 season would start with the first practice Sept. 26 and first game Nov. 10, as currently scheduled. “Coaches in our league are still hoping it’s on time, Nov. 10. But I don’t know,” Self told The Star.
ESPN has yet to announce anything definitive regarding its exempt tournaments, such as the Maui Invitational and Champions Classic. KU as planned right now will meet Kentucky on Nov. 10 at the United Center in Chicago.
“I don’t think they (exempt tourneys) are doomed. There may be some tournaments doomed due to distance or location,” Self said. “I don’t think they are doomed if the season starts on time. I still think our schedule could be pulled off or may be relocated. Instead of playing the Champions Classic in Chicago we may play in Orlando at Disney or somewhere else. But I don’t know that to be the case,” he said.
He said there is still hope KU may travel to Colorado and play USC at home in regularly scheduled games jeopardized by the Pac-12’s decision to not play sports until Jan. 1.
“We’ve got to see,” Self said of replacing games on the schedule, “because the Pac-12 is saying right now they are going to try to play even though they’ve been told they are not going to. There is talk of them still trying to play.”
Self praises John Thompson
KU coach Self on the death of Hall of Fame coach John Thompson: “Of all the shadows that have been cast on our sport in my lifetime, no one’s is bigger than John Thompson. He was respected and an integral pillar in growing our game and he will be truly missed. Just within the past few days our sport has lost two legendary coaches in John Thompson and Lute Olson and we are forever grateful for the lessons they taught us in life and basketball.”
Late Night to be virtual
Self said the season-opening Late Night in the Phog will not be held in front of fans.
“We’ve done some talking … I think we’ll do something ‘Late Night.’ It’d be a virtual Late Night. It won’t be where fans can attend I wouldn’t think. We are only four weeks away from what would be the event. We could do something virtually,” he said.
KU to play just one Div. II school
Self told The Star that KU is planning on playing just one NCAA Div. II school this preseason, instead of the usual two.
He has decided to hold one “secret scrimmage,” in which a Div. I team would travel to Lawrence to scrimmage the Jayhawks, helping KU prepare for such a tough foe in the Champions Classic.
College teams for the many years have been allowed to hold up to two exhibition games or if they wish, or substitute secret scrimmages for games. No fans or media have been allowed to attend the secret scrimmages.
“We don’t have a scrimmage set up yet because everything is in flux on when,” Self said. “I don’t know exactly what we are going to do. We will play one Div. II game, though. When your first game of the season is against Kentucky, Duke or Michigan State, it’d be nice to play a game where somebody can throw comparable size at you and things like that.
“You are trying to get prepared for the first two or three games of the season. They have definitely helped us in some ways,” he added of playing two Div. II teams in the exhibition season. “But being able to play someone of comparable size will probably prepare us more for that first game.”
Nice putt, Coach Self
Self sank a 60-foot putt on the 18th hole during Monday’s scramble tourney at Lawrence Country Club.
“I have gone from real bad to bad — not gotten any better,” he said of his golf game during the pandemic.
Coaches have not been allowed to hit the road for recruiting since March, leaving coaches like Self a bit more time to hit the golf course.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Could NCAA Tournament be a ‘Battle in the Bubble’? KU’s Self on that, Late Night, more."
