The Bama Haul, Bowl Gift Rules, and What's Allowed By Bowls and Schools

In the past, players went to a bowl to earn a trophy for the team and they got a ring, baseball cap, jersey t-shirt and duffle bag for themselves.

Times have changed, and before things got out of hand (and they would have) the NCAA stepped in and implemented rules that governed what could be "gifted" to athletes during the bowl season.

According to the NCAA, bowls are allowed to give up to $500 worth of gifts to the 125 participating team members who arrive for the bowl.

Last year, that was sort of skirted in some bowls as some gifts apparently were worth more, but the bowls claimed lower prices by buying wholesale and in bulk. Some teams were given flat screen TV's which at retail were much over the $500 limit.

So if you're wondering what the biggest of all bowls is handing out, players get to take a checklist to the "Sony Suite" at the hotel and look over Sony products they would like and place a check mark next to the item or items and they are mailed directly to them after the bowl. They can choose up to $300 worth of items from Sony.

This has become popular since athletes may have already owned a walkman or MP3 player, (very common gifts) and the ability to get what you want was appealing to the players.

Next they get a Fossil watch which will have a BCS Championship Game Logo on it. Then they get an Ogio computer backpack with the BCS logo sewn into it. This is really something the athletes love and use to put other souvenirs in.

Next they'll get a Trek 820 Mountain bike and a New Era 59Fifty baseball cap with school and BCS logos on it, which is custom sized and not a cheap adjustable and lastly a Garman GPS. The caps are made in Alabama near Demopolis and the bike is the same model Lance Armstrong rides only with BCS logos on them; nice wheels in other words.

Not a bad haul from the bowl. Retail is well over the $500 limit and they too are claiming "actual" cost paid.

But as they say on game shows on television, "But wait! You also get what's behind door number two!" as in what the teams can give them.

By NCAA statute, schools can give, from their own athletic department budgets, an additional $350 in gifts. This usually includes things as apparel, memorabilia and rings.

Depending on the outcome of the game, the rings will either be SEC Championship rings or a combination ring with SEC Champions on one side and National Champions on the other. They will be given out at a ceremony later.

But though the haul is nice for this group of players from Alabama, the real prize is a chance to play for and win a championship. "Things come and go," said Rolando McClain about this subject, "But you can never lose being a champion."

With focus like that, he and his teammates may make the grandest of hauls.