Talk of bubbles routinely percolates come NCAA tournament time. This year, though, a different kind of bubble became a protective preference, a palliative to distance athletic competitors and competition from COVID-19 including during the NCAA tournament.
Yet, as testing, test turnaround times, and testing protocols were refined, what worked for pro leagues increasingly came to be regarded as optional for hundreds of colleges. Perhaps unnecessary too. And so the idea of multifarious college bubbles soon burst.
Among the first closed environments to be announced, only to be reconsidered, was an ambitious ESPN scheme.
The network announced in late September that eight of 10 in-season tournaments it owns would be held at the Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.