A couple of things popped up recently.
First, apparently First Lady Jill Biden invited both the LSU and Iowa women’s basketball teams to the White House. A number of LSU players, and others, felt that this was a slap in the face - traditionally, only the champions get this honor. Eventually, President Biden sent out a message that pretty much invited just LSU.
Second, the NCAA is seriously considering allowing teams, starting in 2024, to play two summer games if they are not on a foreign tour. There was also a suggestion that the NCAA could use these games to test out experimental rules, the way they used to do this in tournaments in Alaska and Hawaii (and, more recently, the postseason NIT).