All the schools are either going to virtual learning or a hybrid approach, so players wouldn't miss classesGetty Images
A bubble has worked well for both the NBA and NHL, but as of now, the Big East "isn't interested in a bubble for multiple months," according to Zach Braziller of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the discussions "have centered on bubbles a few weeks at a time ... though the basketball-centric league is still focused on a number of different options, from starting the season on time without fans to it being moved back to January." NCAA Senior VP/Basketball Dan Gavitt last week said that a decision on whether the season will start on time "will be made by mid-September." Braziller notes there is "a lot that would be needed to happen" for a bubble, including how it "would have to be affordable." All the schools are either "going to virtual learning or a hybrid approach, so players wouldn't miss classes." TV partner Fox "would have to be on board." Sources said that the league has discussed a number of options relating to a bubble, such as "including men's and women's basketball in one bubble with all 22 teams, two separate bubbles broken down by two regions and separating men's and women's basketball." Fox has been approached to "gauge its interest." A source said that the idea of a bubble has "received 'very strong' support" (N.Y. POST, 8/24).
BUBBLE TROUBLE? The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Bachman & Higgins noted Association of American Universities President Mary Sue Coleman said that it is "increasingly unlikely that any university will be able to hold in-person classes," an assertion which conflicts with the NCAA’s longtime view that college athletes must be fully integrated students on campus. Coleman, who also is an NCAA governor, said, "You can’t put them in a bubble, because they’re students and they have to go to class. I mean, if they’re on campus and they’re not going to class, they’re not learning anything, then it isn’t any longer the academic environment. It flies in the face of what the NCAA means.” Still, Bachman & Higgins noted some big schools "seem determined to play football even if all other students are sent home" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/22). CBSSPORTS.com's Dennis Dodd asked, "What kind of message are these schools sending? If students aren't safe on campus, how can football plow on?" The implications of halting in-person classes but continuing to play football "could be massive" (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/23). In DC, Matt Bonesteel wrote separating athletes from the general student population "could trouble the NCAA, considering its long-standing struggle to minimize the differences between big-time college athletes and their non-athlete peers" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/23).
