Gift suites and watches remain the most popular bowl gifts for teams this season, according to an annual review of gifts to bowl game participants by David Broughton of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. At least “14 of this year’s 35 bowl games will offer gift suites to players.” The suites are rooms where players from participating teams can select from a variety of items. The NCAA allows each bowl to award “up to $550 worth of gifts to 125 participants per school.” 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.” Each limit represents an increase of $50 over last year. As bowl season gets underway on Saturday, listed below are the most popular gifts during the ’11-12 season. Visit SportsBusinessJournal.com for a bowl-by-bowl breakdown of gifts (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/5 issue).
| MOST POPULAR GIFTS FOR PARTICIPATING PLAYERS
DURING '11-12 BOWL SEASON |
| GIFT | NO. OF BOWLS |
| Gift suite | 14 |
| Fossil Watch | 12 |
| Timely Co. watch | 8 |
| Best Buy card/shopping spree | 7 |
| New Era cap | 6 |
| Oakley product(s)* | 6 |
| Ogio luggage/backpack | 5 |
| Tourneau watch | 3 |
| | |
NOTES: * = Oakley will provide gifts for players at five bowl games and VIPs at another bowl.
