College bowl committees plan promotional products for players

More than a dozen major bowl committees plan to give a range of promotional products to coaches, players and other special guests during this year's college football championships, according to a recent article.

Instead of handing out predetermined gifts such as sneakers and rings, some committees will give bowl participants access to rooms full of promotional products called "gift suites," and allow guests to take their pick from a range of different items, according to Street and Smith's Sports Business Report.

The report noted that some bowl committees also plan to hold events on the campuses of participating colleges that will include giveaways of custom bags, grills, GPS systems, iPods and a number of other promotional products.

Promotional products have come to occupy a very visible place in the college bowl series, and in college football in general as universities have sought tie-ins with major apparel providers and sports equipment manufacturers to sell products as fundraisers and as promotional tools for college athletic programs. Special commemorative t-shirts celebrating college football bowl matchups, for instance, are often popular picks among fans.