CFP, new bowls boost spending on gifts

The introduction of the College Football Playoff, the addition of several new postseason games (including one outside the U.S.), and the continued expansion of the player gift suite concept have brought a new level of organized chaos to those who work behind the scenes in college football’s postseason.

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David Broughton and Brandon McClung, SBJ's research staff, discuss the annual list of college bowl gifts.

SportsBusiness Journal’s annual listing and analysis of the gift packages provided to bowl game participants by the committees that host the games reveal that at least $5.4 million will be spent this year on participants’ gifts. That’s up 11 percentcompared with the expenditures of a year ago. In addition, two-thirds of those organizations will stage a gift suite or shopping spree in the coming weeks, up from half the committees a year ago.

The NCAA allows each bowl to award up to $550 worth of gifts to 125 participants per school. Schools can, and usually do, buy additional gifts that they can distribute to participants beyond that 125 limit. In addition, participants can receive awards worth up to $400 from the school and up to $400 from the conference for postseason play, covering both conference title games and any bowl game.

Gift suites are set up as private events prior to the game in which game participants, and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift, or gifts, up to a value that is predetermined by each bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit. Roughly half the suites take place in the bowl’s host city, while the others are staged by the game’s committee on the campus of a participating college.

The gift suite concept was pioneered by Jon Cooperstein to coincide with the 2008 Orange Bowl. Cooperstein leads the sports marketing division for Performance Award Center, a Carrollton, Texas-based company that serves as a broker between high-end brands and companies that provide gifts and incentives to their employees and partners.

Few are more engaged in the gift-distribution process than Cooperstein.

Following the bowl selection announcements this past weekend, Cooperstein had about 20 hours to ship, via air, the 1,000-pound, three-pallet, 80-box load from Performance Award Center’s 60,000-square-foot distribution center to each of the schools that will be playing in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 20. Each shipment will contain the speakers, bikes, blenders, remote-control helicopters, headphones and dozens of other items that make up the suite. The bowl committee will host a gift suite on the campus of one of the participating schools on Wednesday and then will visit the campus of the opposing team on Thursday.

Cooperstein will continue on from there, with an 18-hour cameo at home in Tennessee on Dec. 24 the only exception. (“I’ll actually get to see my wife on Christmas Eve,” he said.) He’ll fly back out again on Christmas afternoon, heading for the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. All told, Cooperstein and his staff of eight will be traveling to approximately 47 campus and/or game sites during the bowl season, racking up “well over 100,000 miles” of flights, he said. Each stop requires assembly of a complete gift suite that must be unpacked and repacked quickly.

The amount of inventory Performance Award Center will ship has more than tripled since 2010, when Cooperstein’s crew had eight full suites that moved around to the roughly 14 sites with which they worked.

Cooperstein said the most-ordered item in last year’s suites was Southern Motion’s powered home theater recliner that has two USB ports that can charge mobile devices. Beth Loden, Southern Motion’s strategic accounts director, said the company shipped 1,500 recliners via last year’s gift suites. Last year was the company’s first appearance in the bowl gift genre, and it’s returning this year.

Beats by Dre products were the second-most ordered item in 2013, Cooperstein said, with the GLD Viper Razorback self-healing dartboard close behind that.

Of course, Cooperstein is just one of many for td>

Southern Motion’s recliner was the most popular item in Performance Award Center gift suites last year, followed by Beats by Dre products and the GLD Viper Razorback dartboard.



whom the serious bowl business begins now that the games’ matchups have been set.

Lea Miller is the founder and president of Complete Sports Management, the operator of the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, college football’s only postseason game played outside the U.S. Although the game’s location is inviting to the participants, and the gift-giving tradition is timely (the bowl will be played on Christmas Eve), there were some unique considerations to be made.

Miller said that rather than deal with the taxes, customs and tariffs that would have been involved with getting gifts shipped to the islands, or hosting a suite on-site, it was easier to host the events on the campuses of the respective schools.

“We knew early on that we would probably have to distribute the gifts on the mainland,” she said. “But in a saturated bowl market, the destination is the differential, and when the teams arrive, the Ministry of Tourism will be providing a Bahamian-style Mardi Gras-type experience.”

In addition to the gifts the players will choose during their suite visits, each Bahamas Bowl participant will receive an Ogio backpack and a New Era cap. (Popeyes also will provide the participants, via the conferences, tumblers emblazoned with its logo before the players leave the mainland.)

Like Cooperstein, Miller noted the need to work quickly: Just two weeks separate selection Sunday from the teams’ arrival in the Bahamas.

This year’s new bowl games in Boca Raton, Fla., and Montgomery, Ala., also opted for gift suites for their inaugural gift offerings. The other two new, non-championship game committees opted to negotiate with vendors on their own.

The Miami Beach Bowl, which is run by the American Athletic Conference and has a six-year rental agreement at Marlins Park, is providing players with, among other things, items from Under Armour, a top-tier corporate partner of the committee.

The Quick Lane Bowl, which is run by the Detroit Lions, will be providing each participant in that game a custom-made Fathead with the player’s likeness. Fathead is based in Detroit.

Including gift packages for players, cheerleaders, staff and VIPs, Fossil products will be handed out by 15 bowl committees this year, matching that brand’s total from last year’s bowl season. Sony, Trek and Xbox have the potential of being the top giveaways, as their products are available in nearly every gift suite.

While a spokesman for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl would not disclose the contents of that game’s gift packages, New Era officials said bowl participants will receive a selection of the company’s products.

Similarly, Goodyear Cotton Bowl representatives would not disclose the contents of their gift packages. Organizers of the national championship game also declined to provide details of their presents, but a spokesperson for the championship game said those participating players would not be visiting a gift suite — as the committee knows that all the participants coming to that game would have already had that experience at the national semifinal games (the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl) in the preceding days.

And when it’s all done, the craziness of the season always pays off, Cooperstein said.

“The bowls are not our clients; the players and schools’ VIPs are,” he said. “If the selection looks good, then the players, the administration, the coaches’ wives and the VIPs are happy — and if they’re happy, it helps everyone’s bottom line.”

2014 Bowl Gifts to Participants

■ R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Dec. 20, 11 a.m. (ESPN); New Orleans

Gift suite; Fossil watch

■ Gildan New Mexico Bowl

Dec. 20, 2:20 p.m. (ESPN); Albuquerque, N.M.

Gift suite; AudioSource Sound pop portable/mobile speaker; mobile phone charger and cord; Oakley Works backpack; Oakley Enduro sunglasses; Oakley fine knit beanie; cap; Gildan stadium blanket

■ Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. (ABC); Las Vegas

Gift suite; Oakley Works backpack

■ Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Dec. 20, 5:45 p.m. (ESPN); Boise, Idaho

Gift suite; Ogio backpack; winter coat; winter gloves; winter beanie; Big Game football

■ Raycom Media Camellia Bowl

Dec. 20, 9:15 p.m. (ESPN); Montgomery, Ala.

Gift suite; Fossil watch; cap; souvenir pylon; football

■ Miami Beach Bowl

Dec. 22, 2 p.m. (ESPN); Miami

Under Armour sunglasses; Under Armour cap; Oakley Halifax backpack; electronics product

■ Boca Raton Bowl

Dec. 23, 6 p.m. (ESPN); Boca Raton, Fla.

Gift suite

■ San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Dec. 23, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN); San Diego

$395 Best Buy gift card; Fossil watch; cap

■ Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

Dec. 24, Noon (ESPN); Nassau, Bahamas

Gift suite; Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; New Era 39Thirty cap

■ Hawaii Bowl

Dec. 24, 8 p.m. (ESPN); Honolulu

Gift suite; Oakley Holbrook sunglasses; Oakley Works backpack; Tori Richard aloha shirt; Pro Athletics T-shirt and shorts/swim trunks; beach towel

■ Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl

Dec. 26, 1 p.m. (ESPN); Dallas

Gift suite; Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; beanie; Big Game football

■ Quick Lane Bowl

Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN); Detroit

$250 Best Buy gift card; Sony headphones; custom-made Fathead for each player, with his likeness; various apparel; football

■ Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl

Dec. 26, 8 p.m. (ESPN); St. Petersburg, Fla.

Gift suite; Oakley Breadbox sunglasses; Oakley Works backpack

■ Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman

Dec. 27, 1 p.m. (ESPN); Annapolis, Md.

Microsoft Xbox One console; Under Armour backpack; Mighty Boom Ball speakers; beanie



■ Hyundai Sun Bowl

Dec. 27, 2 p.m. (CBS); El Paso, Texas

Gift suite; Timely Watch Co. watch; Ogio Politan backpack; Helen of Troy hair dryer; Majestic fleece pullover; Top of the World cap

■ Duck Commander Independence Bowl

Dec. 27, 3:30 p.m. (ABC); Shreveport, La.

Gift suite; Timely Watch Co. watch; New Era ski cap; football

■ New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN); Bronx, N.Y.

Variety of New Era products

■ National University Holiday Bowl

Dec. 27, 8 p.m. (ESPN); San Diego

$445 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip^; Fossil watch; cap

■ AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Dec. 29, 2 p.m. (ESPN); Memphis

Sol Republic Deck Ultra wireless bluetooth speaker; Bulova watch; Nike athletic shoes; Nike sport sandals; Nike sunglasses; Nike backpack; game ball

■ Russell Athletic Bowl

Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN); Orlando

$447 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip^; watch; athletic performance shirt

■ AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl

Dec. 29, 9 p.m. (ESPN); Houston

Gift suite; Adidas Team Speed duffel bag; cap; belt buckle

■ Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Dec. 30, 3 p.m. (ESPN); Nashville

Gift suite; Fossil watch

■ Belk Bowl

Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN); Charlotte

Shopping trip to Belk department store; Fossil watch

■ Foster Farms Bowl

Dec. 30, 10 p.m. (ESPN); Santa Clara, Calif.

Gift suite; Fossil watch

■ Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN); Atlanta

$300 Vanilla Visa gift card; Chick-fil-A gift card; Apple TV; Fossil watch; football

■ Vizio Fiesta Bowl

Dec. 31, 4 p.m. (ESPN); Glendale, Ariz.

Gift suite; Fossil watch; Ogio Rogue backpack

■ Capital One Orange Bowl

Dec. 31, 8 p.m. (ESPN); Miami Gardens, Fla.

Gift suite; Tourneau watch

■ Outback Bowl

Jan. 1, Noon (ESPN2); Tampa

$150 Best Buy gift card; Outback Steakhouse gift card; Fossil watch; Jostens ring; cap

■ Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN); Arlington, Texas

Information not available; bowl committee would not disclose

■ Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl

Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (ABC); Orlando

$447 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip^; watch; athletic performance shirt

■ Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual

Jan. 1, 5 p.m. (ESPN); Pasadena, Calif.

Gift suite; Fossil watch; Oakley Works backpack; New Era 59Fifty cap

■ Allstate Sugar Bowl

Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN); New Orleans

Gift suite; Fossil watch; New Era cap

■ Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Jan. 2, Noon (ESPN); Fort Worth, Texas

Gift suite; Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; beanie; Big Game football

■ TaxSlayer Bowl

Jan. 2, 3:20 p.m. (ESPN); Jacksonville

Panasonic gift suite; Fossil watch

■ Valero Alamo Bowl

Jan. 2, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN); San Antonio

GoPro Hero4 Silver camera and 32GB memory card; Fossil watch; Oakley Works backpack; Schutt mini helmet; panoramic photo

■ TicketCity Cactus Bowl

Jan. 2, 10:15 p.m. (ESPN); Tempe, Ariz.

Gift suite; Fossil watch; Ogio Rogue backpack

■ Birmingham Bowl

Jan. 3, 1 p.m. (ESPN); Birmingham, Ala.

Gift suite; Oakley sunglasses; beanie; hooded sweatshirt; Big Game football

■ GoDaddy Bowl

Jan. 4, 9 p.m. (ESPN); Mobile, Ala.

Sol Republic Tracks Air wireless/bluetooth on-ear headphones; watch; Coleman chair; military style backpack; Wilson football

■ College Football Playoff National Championship Game presented by AT&T

Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN); Arlington, Texas

Information not available; bowl committee would not disclose

^ To be spent during the team’s official store visit.

Notes: All times listed are ET. Product details are provided as they were available as of Dec. 4. Most watches, rings, clothing, luggage and footballs are custom-made with the bowl logo. Gift suites are set up as private events in which game participants, and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift, or gifts, up to a value that is predetermined by each specific bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit of $550 per person.

Compiled by David Broughton, Brandon McClung and Shelby O’Brien

Sources: Bowl committees and vendors