Sun Bowl swag just part of experience for Cougars

PULLMAN – In the age of newer, flatter and more useful TVs, Mike Leach’s set is a relic, dating all the way back to 2005.

That was the first year Leach’s Texas Tech team made it to the Cotton Bowl, and although the Red Raiders lost to No. 13 Alabama by a field goal, the boob tube served as its own sort of trophy.

Leach actually got a newer set when TTU returned to Dallas in 2008, but his children pilfered it, a common fate for the coach’s bowl gifts.

Among the traditional ephemera used to make a bowl trip bigger than the game itself, none is more universal than the lavishing of gifts – no more than $550 in value – upon the players and coaches.

The Cougars got their first bit of swag – a fleece pullover – on Friday, and will also receive backpacks, watches, caps and a commemorative coin.

“(The gifts from different bowls) are kind of similar,” Leach said. “One thing, we always kind of trickle them out. … There are guys that will get as excited about a shirt, or a coat or something, as anything.”

The stream of presents culminates with a trip to the “gift suite,” in El Paso, where players are given a number of points with which to purchase items such as videogame consoles, recliners and TVs, all of which fit under the $550 cap because the bowls buy in bulk. The conference and school are each allowed to chip in an additional $400 worth of gifts for the players.

WSU will practice four times in El Paso, giving the team a total of 11 additional practices due to its making a bowl game. There is no cap on the number of bowl practices a team may hold as long is at abides by the normal NCAA practice regulations.

Gifts, practices and a game aren’t all that await the Cougars in El Paso. There are also various excursions – some say distractions – that serve to put the teams out in the community in advance of the game.

The Cougars will spend a day visiting the troops stationed at Fort Bliss and another day visiting the El Paso Children’s Hospital. For the seniors, many of whom have already graduated, these serve as the final few bonding activities they will perform with their longtime teammates.

The Cougars say that the work they put preparing for Miami in the weeks leading up to the game make it OK to take a little time off in the days immediately preceding the game.

“The way we balance is just preparing before we leave,” said senior safety Taylor Taliulu. “We know we’re going to have to go to events and stuff like that, but just preparing these last couple weeks against Miami and doing all we can in the film room and on the field sets us up to just enjoy the bowl.”

“(Defensive coordinator Alex) Grinch has got us focused the weeks before the bowl game. So, right now we take in as much information and as much physical work as we can,” added defensive lineman Darryl Paulo. “That way we can enjoy the week. We’ll still do some film and practice, but the work has been done before we arrive.”

And Leach expects his team to enjoy the experience, noting that the Sun Bowl – tied with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl for second-longest running bowl games in the country – has developed a reputation within the coaching community for being gracious hosts.

“Them and the Rose Bowl know how to put on a bowl better than anybody, as far as experience,” Leach said. “So we’re looking forward to it.”