Kentucky coach John Calipari in favor of basketball nonconference bubble

Different than some other proposals floated out there this summer, Calipari suggested that Kentucky, Michigan State, Duke and Kansas form a temporary bubble for the annual Champions Classic event.

"Do we go and play the Champions Classic in a bubble without fans and we play each other?" Calipari said when discussing options. 

"We all play each other, round-robin. You walk away with three games. Do we put in a bubble or a pod Kentucky, Louisville, and Michigan State with three 'buy games'? Detroit, where my son plays, Murray State and East Tennessee State with us and we play a round-robin so that we can get the buy games where those teams really need that money? We can do that. Do we do it that way? Is the NCAA tournament in a bubble?"

Last week, ESPN reported how Houston event operator Rhossi Carron had reached out to schools about creating an isolated hub for a slate of nonconference games that could occur between Dec. 1 and Dec. 21. 

On Monday, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt announced that a decision on basketball seasons, including start dates for campaigns, should be made public by mid-September. 

The National Women's Soccer League and Major League Soccer completed return-to-play tournaments inside bubbles this summer, and the WNBA NBA, and NHL have all avoided coronavirus outbreaks with personnel isolated in hubs. 

Major League Baseball, meanwhile, has dealt with multiple virus outbreaks since the start of its pandemic-shortened season on July 23. MLB teams are traveling to and from cities for in-market games. 

As noted by Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting, UFC boss Dana White declared earlier this month he believes sports in the United States are "impossible" to pull off without bubble scenarios.