Pylons, Fatheads Among New Bowl Gifts For '14-15, While Suites Return For Many Events

{podcast} SBJ's David Broughton and Brandon McClung talk about the annual college bowl gifts list

Hair dryers, aloha shirts and belt buckles return as bowl gifts this season, but new to the roster are pylons and custom-made Fatheads, according to SportsBusiness Daily/Journal’s annual gift package rundown. All told, at least $5.4M will be spent on gifts that will be given to the '14-15 bowl game participants, up 11% compared with the expenditures of a year ago. The increase is fueled in part by the addition of several new bowls. In addition, two-thirds of the bowl game committees will be staging the increasingly popular gift suites or shopping sprees 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 bowl games.

SOUNDS SUITE: 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. Such will be the case for the teams taking part in the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. Complete Sports Management Founder & President Lea Miller, whose firm operates the Bahamas Bowl, 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 will be easier to host the events on the campuses of the respective schools playing in the game.

MORE FROM THE NEW KIDS: This year’s new bowl games in Boca Raton, Fla., and Montgomery, Ala., also opted for gift suites for their inaugural 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 Lions, will be providing each participant in that game a custom-made Fathead with the player’s likeness. Fathead is based in Detroit.

OLDIES, BUT GOODIES: The hair dryer (Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso), belt buckle (AdvoCare Texas Bowl in Houston) and aloha shirts (Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu) are long-standing gifts from the bowl committees in those respective cities. While a spokesperson for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl would not disclose the contents of that game’s gift packages, New Era officials said that bowl participants will receive a selection of the company’s products. Similarly, Goodyear Cotton Bowl reps would not disclose the contents of their gift packages. Organizers of the College Football Playoff national championship game also declined to provide details, but a spokesperson for the event 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 (Rose Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl) in the preceding days.

EVENT GIFT

SUITE? GIFT(S) R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Yes Fossil watch Gildan New Mexico Bowl Yes AudioSource Sound portable/mobile speaker; mobile phone charger; Oakley Works backpack; Oakley Enduro sunglasses/beanie; cap; Gildan blanket Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Yes Oakley Works backpack Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Yes Ohio backpack; winter coat; winter gloves; winter beanie; Big Game football Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Yes Fossil watch; cap; souvenir pylon; football Miami Beach Bowl No Under Armour sunglasses; Under Armour cap;

Oakley Halifax backpack; electronics product Boca Raton Bowl Yes n/a San Diego County

Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl No $395 Best Buy gift card; Fossil watch; cap Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Yes Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; New Era 39Thirty cap Hawaii Bowl Yes Oakley Holbrook sunglasses; Oakley Works backpack; Tori Richard aloha shirt; Pro Athletics t-shirt/shorts/swim trunks; beach towel Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl Yes Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; beanie; Big Game football Quick Lane Bowl No $250 Best Buy gift card; Sony headphones; custom-made Fathead for each player with their likeness; various apparel; football Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl Yes Oakley Breadbox sunglasses; Oakley Works backpack Military Bowl No Microsoft Xbox One console; Under Armour backpack; Might Boom Ball speakers; beanie Hyundai Sun Bowl Yes Timely Watch Co. watch; Ogio Politan backpack;

Helen of Troy hair dryer; Majestic fleece pullover; Top of the World cap Duck Commander

Independence Bowl Yes Timely Watch Co. watch; New Era ski cap; football New Era Pinstripe Bowl No Variety of New Era products National University

Holiday Bowl No $445 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip; Fossil watch; cap AutoZone Liberty Bowl No Sol Republic Deck Ultra wireless bluetooth speaker; Bulova watch; Nike athletic shoes/sport sandals/backpack; game ball Russell Athletic Bowl No $447 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip; watch; athletic performance shirt AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Yes adidas Team Speed duffel bag; cap; belt buckle Franklin American Mortgage

Music City Bowl Yes Fossil watch Belk Bowl No Shopping trip to Belk department store; Fossil watch Foster Farms Bowl Yes Fossil watch Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl No $300 Vanilla Visa gift card; Chick-fil-A gift card; Apple TV; Fossil watch; football Vizio Fiesta Bowl Yes Fossil watch; Ogio Rogue backpack Capital One Orange Bowl Yes Tourneau watch Outback Bowl No $150 Best Buy gift card; Outback Steakhouse gift card; Fossil watch; Jostens rings; cap Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic n/a Information not available; bowl committee would not disclose Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl No $447 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip; watch; athletic performance shirt Rose Bowl Yes Fossil watch; Oakley Works backpack; New Era 59Fifty cap Allstate Sugar Bowl Yes Fossil watch; New Era cap Lockheed Martin

Armed Forces Bowl Yes Ogio Marshall Pack backpack; beanie; Big Game football TaxSlayer Bowl Yes Panasonic gift suite; Fossil watch Valero Alamo Bowl No GoPro Hero4 Silver camera and 32 GB memory card; Fossil watch; Oakley Works backpack; Schutt mini helmet; panoramic photo TicketCity Cactus Bowl Yes Fossil watch; Ogio Rogue backpack Birmingham Bowl Yes Oakley sunglasses; beanie; hooded sweatshirt; Big Game football GoDaddy Bowl No Sol Republic Tracks Air wireless/bluetooth on-ear headphones; watch; Coleman chair; military style backpack; Wilson football CFP Championship game n/a Information not available; bowl committee would not disclose

NOTES: 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.