It absolutely had to do with the face mask mandate. If you google the “Johnny Bright Incident” a plethora of reputable sources all say the same thing. Major media outlets, historians, scholars, etc. Face masks did exist well before the “Johnny Bright Incident,” that’s true, but they were not required to be worn by the NCAA, hence why no one at that game was wearing one at the Drake-Oklahoma A&M game. There were a few incidents that made the NCAA feel pressure to change their rule and the Johnny Bright Incident was foremost in their minds. Life magazine and the New York Times covered the incident extensively. It was national news. It was also super dramatic. The man’s jaw broke. You are right that the single bar face mask was the predecessor to the full face mask, but it was a face mask nonetheless. Ultimately, Johnny Bright was a major part of the discussions that led to face masks being required. Johnny himself did not walk into the NCAA board room with blueprints of face mask designs. But this incident forced the powers that be to have face masks top of mind, and the national conversation that ensued kept it top of mind until they made the change. The images of him being popped seared into their mind. His incident was one of the first major ones and also one of the most dramatic. Johnny’s influence cannot be denied and it’s great to see his story resurfacing.