Licensing group protects official merchandise surrounding the College Football Playoff.

College Football Playoff associates and officials from Clemson University and the University of Alabama, in conjunction with the Collegiate Licensing Company, have been working together to clear the Phoenix, Ariz., market of counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise in the lead up to last night's National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium.

CLC, the trademark licensing affiliate of IMG College and the exclusive licensing partner of the CFP, Clemson and Alabama, worked closely with local law enforcement officials in Phoenix and special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations to control the merchandise being sold surrounding the CFP National Championship.

Enforcement efforts surrounding the CFP began last week at the playoff semifinals, where more than 2,500 counterfeit items were seized with a retail value totalling more than $70,000.

There are 48 companies that are officially licensed to produce approved merchandise bearing the marks of the College Football Playoff, all of which will display the phrase Officially Licensed Collegiate Product or the CFP’s Extra Yard for Teachers hologram somewhere on the product or hangtag.