Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 08/31/20
The NCAA has officially filed a trademark application for “Battle in the Bubble.”
First reported by trademark specialist Josh Gerben, the NCAA filed the trademark application on Aug. 26.
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You can watch Gerben’s breakdown of the application details below.
As Gerben highlights, the NCAA has not made “Battle in the Bubble” specific to one sport, which could potentially mean that other sports could follow. According the filing, the NCAA intends to use the trademark for branded merchandise relating to “athletic contests, games, tournaments, exhibitions and other athletic events at the college level.”
The NBA, WNBA and NHL have used bubbles to provide safe athletic competition in confined areas in recent months amid COVID-19. Reports suggest that college basketball (and possibly other sports as well) is headed in that direction in order to successfully stage a 2020-21 season.
It is unclear at this time whether the “Battle in the Bubble” will directly apply to regular season games or March Madness competition.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.