Just before the end of 2020, the NCAA has gone ahead and done maybe the most 2020 thing ever. The NCAA has filed a trademark for the term “Mask Madness,” as a way to promote the wearing of masks during the Division I men’s basketball tournament known as “March Madness.”
“The National Collegiate Athletic Association made the filing on Dec. 23,” Sporting News reports. “According to the filing, the NCAA wants to use the term both to promote public awareness about the benefits of wearing masks, along with advertising and marketing around masks as a protection of viral infections.”
The NCAA reported $375 million in losses after they canceled the 2020 tournament due to the coronavirus.
As opposed to the normal regional set-up for the tournament, which features teams playing at different locations all over the country, this year’s NCAA tournament will likely be held exclusively in Indianapolis. The plan, as it currently stands, is to have teams playing at different stadiums within the city.
While the NCAA plans to promote the benefits of mask-wearing through the trademarking of “Mask Madness,” it’s not exactly clear what those “benefits” actually are. The Golden State is currently experiencing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the country, despite having some of the toughest mask and social distancing restrictions.