Here's the Impressive Swag Players Receive at the NCAA Tournament

By Brendan Menapace

After sitting out a year, the NCAA Tournament is back. And, borrowing from the success of sports “bubbles” like the NBA, the entire tournament will take place in Indianapolis.

For the lucky student-athletes making the trip, there’s a pretty impressive promotional gift set waiting for them in Indy with everything they need to not only commemorate their trip to the Big Dance, but also live comfortably in their temporary home.

Here’s the welcome-to-Indy team swag starter set teams are getting from the NCAA upon arrival.

Blanket, towels, puzzle, socks, @jessewashington’s John Thompson book (love that), copious amounts of soaps, hand sanitizer, deodorants and, of course, Axe pomade. pic.twitter.com/rQgfCUDkVI

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 14, 2021

Aside from toiletries like body wash, shampoo and face wash, there’s plenty of Lysol wipes for players to maintain COVID protocol while staying in their hotels. There’s also a key tool to safely open doors and press elevator buttons without having to worry about spreading germs.

Now, onto the branded stuff. Since they’re spending all of their time either on the court or in the hotel, the players need stuff they’ll use every day. There’s branded bedding, just in case they want to really immerse themselves in the March Madness experience day and night. There’s a branded towel for after game time, a puzzle for decompressing after high-adrenaline days, and even a book by famed Georgetown coach John Thompson for feeling inspired while they wind down before bed.

And then, for when it's all over, there are plenty of things to remember the experience of a lifetime for many of these athletes, like a hat and drawstring bag.

Usually, the tournament takes place all across the country, coming to one hub for the final games. But, this year, like just about everything, the tournament is different. It’s a good branding move on behalf of the Indianapolis team to really market the heck out of the central location. This will always be the NCAA Tournament we remember for being the “bubble” tournament.

But marketing is pretty easy for the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA has a vise-grip on its trademarks, like “March Madness,” so anyone who tries to use that phrase for unofficial marketing is going to get hit with litigation. So, when players receive products that say “March Madness,” "The Final Four" or “The Big Dance,” they know they’re the real deal.

And this year, like the equally trademarked Super Bowl, the singular location makes for even better branding. Maybe next year, when things return to normal, each host city will do something similar for arriving student athletes, sort of like how football bowl games have sponsored gift packages for players. But this year it’s all Indy. And Indianapolis has taken that opportunity to do some A+ marketing.

Find the necessity (players adapting to life in a hotel) and solve it with promotional products. Swish.