SportBusiness Journal releases its seventh annual breakdown of the gift packages players receive for their participation in postseason bowl games. Article here.
From the article:
The NCAA allows each bowl to award up to $550 worth of gifts to 125 participants per school. Schools can, and almost always do, buy additional packages 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.
This season, Michigan's Outback Bowl bound participants will receive a $150 Best Buy gift card, a Fossil watch, ring, and cap, as well as an Outback Steakhouse gift card.
Also interesting, to me at least, is the increase in the number of players who are choosing to select gifts for family members and other close friends:
When we were at the Alabama-Texas BCS championship game in 2010, one of the Alabama players came to me and said he wanted to select the watch with the bowl logo, but asked if we could fit it to someone else,” said Cooperstein, who was running the gift suite on behalf of the Rose Bowl committee. “I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but he disappeared and came back a few minutes later with his grandfather in a wheelchair and said he wanted to give his bowl watch to him. It was a very emotional experience for everyone.”
The iPad 2 looks like the best gift out of everything, including this season.
"We bring you to Michigan to take care of Michigan; your job is to protect that block M."
-Carol Hutchins