A father’s frustration shopping for the perfect Crimson Tide Christmas gift gave way to a new Birmingham business.

University FanCards produces, markets and sells collegiately branded gifts cards.

Greg Boggs said the initial launch of University FanCards with the University of Alabama was very successful. (contributed)

Greg Boggs, chief marketing officer for FanCards, said his family’s experience gave birth to the idea.

“My dad was getting gift cards for the family for Christmas last year and was looking through what was available without finding what he wanted,” Boggs said.

What he wanted was a gift card identified with the family’s favorite football team, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Unable to find one, he had to go with a generic gift card.

“We started doing some research and I was surprised to find that a gift card branded with the University of Alabama didn’t exist,” Boggs said. “You could either get a vanilla Visa or MasterCard, one with the design of a wrapped present. You could get a Duck Dynasty card, but not a Crimson Tide one.”

Boggs saw an opportunity to get into the gift card business. After making a pitch to Learfield Sports’ Crimson Tide Sports Marketing, University FanCards got three-year rights to one of the biggest names in all of sports for its first gift card.

University of Alabama Athletics becomes the first college team in the country to offer a branded gift card.

The MasterCard gift cards were available for the first time this previous Christmas. Like similar gift cards, they are accepted everywhere debit MasterCard is accepted in the U.S.

“We know people here in Alabama love supporting their school of choice, so we wanted to give fans an exciting way to do just that,” Boggs said. “University of Alabama Athletics is the perfect first partner for this program. They have a dedicated fan base that is passionate about finding unique ways to show their school pride. We couldn’t ask for a better or more enthusiastic university as our partner.”

University FanCards can be purchased online but will soon be available in retail outlets. (contributed)

The cards are available at BamaCards.com. They are sold in $25, $50 and $100 gift amounts and cost $5.95 for the card. The University of Alabama gets a portion of the fee.

Boggs said FanCards is preparing to offer the cards in 1,500 retail outlets where other gift cards are sold. The company is also planning to roll out a rechargeable cash card this year.

If you’re not a Bama fan, you could have your own team’s card as early as next month.

University FanCards is working to launch branded cards with other SEC schools such as Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida and South Carolina as well as universities Arizona, Florida State, Nebraska and West Virginia.

“By next football season and next Christmas, we hope to have most every school covered,” Boggs said.

If this Christmas season was any indication, the appetite for FanCards is great.

“The rollout this Christmas could not have been any better,” Boggs said. “It felt very much like destiny.”