While inter-conference infighting and uncertainty swirls around the college football season. College Basketball programs and the NCAA are contemplating a season in a bubble. In the hopes of having the 2021 NCAA Tournament happen.

College Basketball might be able to make a bubble work for this upcoming season. They have a few things working in their favor. First, they have pre-existing frameworks to work with. Not just emulating the so far successful NBA bubble strategy. Neutral site tournaments are already an established part of college basketball. Through regular season events that include the Jimmy V Classic, the Maui Invitational, the Crossroads Classic and others. To postseason conference tournaments and of course March Madness.

While the NBA, NHL and MLS basically built their bubble format from scratch. The organizers of various college basketball tournaments have years of experience to draw upon. They have an established blueprint to address travel accommodations and more. We could have non-conference schedules built around expanding some of those regular season tournaments. Preserving a unique part of the college basketball season.

Programs can build their non-conference schedules through regionally based tournaments. Locally, we could have a tournament that preserves the Crosstown Shootout. We can have tournaments that reignite old rivalries. Such as the rivalry between Cincinnati Basketball and Louisville Basketball. Xavier Basketball and Dayton Basketball’s old rivalry; along with Kentucky Basketball vs. Indiana Basketball.

These tournaments can also include “money games.” When major programs pay mid to low major programs to play them at home. The conference tournaments provide a framework for conference play. Conferences can effectively do two tournaments in one. The first would determine the bracket seeding for the official conference tournament. Which is what regular season conference play already does. The twist is that teams play a handful of conference foes; instead of everyone in the conference.

Conferences could split into regionally aligned divisions. For Example, the Big East Conference could split up so the Midwestern schools just play each other. While the Northeastern schools play each other. Or conferences can pick a regionally convenient neutral site. To play their traditional double round robin schedules. After the regular season, the conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournaments can function like they usually do. Since most conferences and the entire Men’s D-I NCAA Tournament uses neutral sites.

College Basketball has two other things working in their favor. Smaller rosters compared to football and time. Smaller rosters make outbreaks in a bubble potentially easier to contain. Unfortunately, it also means a potential outbreak could rapidly sideline an entire team. Small rosters also put less of a strain on a university’s testing capabilities. With 15 players on a college basketball team’s roster. Compared to the NCAA’s 85 player roster limit for football.

Ultimately, college basketball has the time to craft a season in a bubble. With roughly two and a half months before the season’s original starting date. Some conferences aren’t planning on starting basketball season until next January. Whether conferences start play in November or January. They have the time to iron out their plans. To see how things go on individual campuses across the nation. While addressing educational and logistical issues for teams.