Bowl season and the holidays mean the same thing: gifts galore.
Each year, SportsBusiness Journal compiles a list of gifts players will receive from the bowl they'll play in. This year, they range from an alpaca throw (AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl) to a $350 Best Buy shopping trip (Russell Athletic Bowl).
MORE: Reason to watch every bowl | All the bowls, all their gifts
Sporting News staffers Colleen Thomas and Steve Petrella pick out the best and worst gift bundles. Which package would you want?
Best
Arizona Bowl — Cowtown custom-made cowboy boots
SP: Imagine 85 players getting off a bus in high-end cowboy boots. Many of these kids have quality headphones and gaming systems from stipends anyway — but when the hell else are they getting custom-made cowboy boots they’ll never wear?
Alamo Bowl — Beats Studio Wireless headphones; Fossil watch; $125 Best Buy gift card; team panoramic photo; commemorative mini-helmet
CT: This is by far the best assortment of useable goods. You’ll always need a good set of headphones, a quality timepiece and a TV. The photo and commemorative mini-helmet can go in the man cave of memorabilia all men inevitably have.
SP: A good mix of goods and a nice team photo to remember that trip to San Antonio.
Quick Lane Bowl — JBL headphones; custom-made, life-sized decal for each player, with his likeness; hoodie, winter hat, baseball cap; Ogio backpack; vintage football; $200 Best Buy gift card
CT: Here are some headphones the NFL-bound players can actually wear on game day. And a jacket. And two hats. And a backpack. And a football. Oh, and an ego-sized picture of yourself. Have a day, Chips and Gophers.
SP: A custom FatHead? Sign me up. I would like to formally request that players not be restricted to using their likeness. They should be able to use anyone’s likeness, like that of Charlie Weis or a live mascot.
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Belk Bowl — Shopping trip to Belk department store; Fossil watch
CT: All the players will be looking like Cam Newton afterwards.
SP: Go get yourself a new pair of pants, son.
Hawaii Bowl — Gift suite; Oakley sunglasses and backpack; Tori Richard aloha shirt; surf trunks; team performance wear; Urban Barrels beach bag and towel
SP: If I played in this bowl game, I probably wouldn’t go home and would use this gift package as a start to fitting in.
Russell Athletic Bowl — $350 Best Buy shopping trip; Timely Watch Co. watch; ISlide footwear; beach towel; Russell Athletic performance pullover
CT: I hope North Carolina and Baylor players love gadgets because they’ll be getting the most money to Best Buy out of any bowl gift package, plus a watch and some clothes. Not a bad haul.
MORE: How expanded playoff would look in 2015
Military Bowl — Microsoft Xbox One with Kinect bundle; Under Armour duffel bag
CT: As if college-aged boys don’t play enough video games…
SP: May be best served for a team other than Navy, considering its players have real responsibilities and commitments off the field.
Chick-fil-A Bowl — $300 Vanilla Visa gift card; Fossil watch; Bluetooth speaker; commemorative football; $10 Chick-fil-A gift card
CT: Hey — a player is kinda sorta getting paid for play! (If you count the cash in the form of a Visa gift card). The only knock: only $10 to Chick-fil-A?!
Let’s break this down. $10 will get you a Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich with medium fries and a medium sweet tea, and a regular chicken sandwich. That might be a lot of food for a normal human being, but not for an offensive lineman. Most eat around 5,300 calories a day — double that of what a normal human is supposed to consume — and the meal outlined above is 1,540 calories. That comes out to 29 percent of their daily caloric intake; barely a meal for them. C’mon Chick-fil-A.
Miami Beach Bowl — Bluetooth speaker, backpack, bucket hat and sunglasses, beach towel, waterproof cellphone case.
CT: They did a nice job pairing items. A great package for any beachgoer.
SP: Sounds like the second-level prize pack on Nickelodeon’s “Figure It Out” (after a pair of Sketchers, before the all-inclusive Bahamas getaway), but this is practical for any beach/lake/water trip. And everyone loves a good bucket hat.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — Gift suite; Coleman two-person tent; beanie; Oakley backpack; Big Game football
SP: They should give out a hobo’s bindle instead of a backpack to complement the two-person tent, but it serves the same primary function.
Outback Bowl — $150 Best Buy gift card; Outback Steakhouse gift card; Fossil watch; Jostens ring; cap
CT: Have a bloomin’ onion or some coconut shrimp with your bling, why dontcha?
SP: Buy a TV. Eat a steak. Put on a hat. Sounds like a full day.
MORE: Final CFP rankings
Liberty Bowl — Bass Pro Shops gift card and shopping trip; custom-made Oculus Pro Team HD binoculars; Bulova watch; Nike athletic shoes, sport sandals, sunglasses and custom-made backpack; commemorative game ball
CT: This makes the list because it’s a haul. A watch, some clothes and a backpack is sweet. But what 20-year-old shops at Bass Pro Shops? That's more for the the bowl selection committee members than 20-year-olds.
GoDaddy Bowl — Timely Watch Co. watch; Sol Republic Punk speakers; 32-quart Lit cooler; Wilson official souvenir game ball
SP: This cooler is cool and lit.
Tax Slayer Bowl — Panasonic gift suite; Fossil watch
CT: While “gift suite” is vague, at least it’s full of Panasonic goods. TVs, headphones, speakers, cameras, even a breadmaker! Yes, please.
Worst
Citrus Bowl — $315 Best Buy shopping trip; Timely Watch Co. watch; EA Sports video game; ISlide footwear; beach towel
CT: The irony here is that EA Sports game is not going to be NCAA Football 14 because thanks, NCAA.
MORE: Oklahoma has best shot at title
Cotton Bowl — Would not disclose
SP: My ideal choices: A 12-pound tray of lasagna for each player. Five-hour meet-and-greet with Jerry Jones. A pair of Sketchers.
AdvoCare Texas Bowl — Gift suite; belt buckle; duffel bag; alpaca throw; selfie stick
CT: Screw selfie sticks.
Orange Bowl — Gift suite; Tourneau watch; Schutt commemorative “split” helmet (half one team and half the other)
SP: One team will want to smash this helmet on New Year’s Day. One will proudly display this helmet on its collective mantle.
Pinstripe Bowl — Variety of New Era products
CT: The NCAA allows up to $550 worth of goods per player for bowl gifts. That’s a lot of hats.
National Championship Game — Iconic gift.
SP: If the playoff ever expands to, say, 16 teams, will players get a new set of bowl gifts for each game? If it takes just one win to get an ICONIC gift, what will three wins get you?
