No more free gear will be handed out in the NCAA tournament this year (image via nbccamps)
College basketball’s top athletes are constantly bombarded with free swag, ranging from top-of-the-line basketball shoes, to work-out gear, and even iPods.
March Madness is typically no different, but last summer Big Ten, Pac-10, and Mid-American officials decided to halt the distribution of all tournament gifts this year as a way to cut costs, the Sports Business Journal reports.
Though an effortless cut, the absence of these gifts will greatly pay off. The MAC expects to save $40,000, while Pac-10 and Big Ten expect to drop more than $300,000 from this year’s expenses, according to Sports Business Journal.
But the rest of the conferences were not convinced the trade-off would be worth it.
So while players in the Pac-10, Big Ten, and MAC will be going home empty-handed, their fellow athletes in the ACC will receive a Nintendo Wii package and an Under Armour backpack.
SEC players get to walk away with one of the following: a Garmin Nuvi GPS, Sony digital camera, Apple iPod Touch 8GB, Flop MinoHD camc order, or Wenger two-tone touch.
Athletes in the NCAA will be given a bench chair, Jostens ring, Fossil watch, backpack, Wilson mini-basketball and commemorative ticket. And if they make it to the Final Four — a piece of the playing court, Sports Business Journal reports.
