Personally I think the FPGA tools would be a great addition for offseason projects.
Perhaps you want to measure gas exchange in your local rain forest, or connect it to your neighborhood hadron collider, make an engine controller for your motorcycle, or send it up in a rocket to perform flight control, ... just as long as it doesn't involve driving somewhat powerful robots without the appropriate safety mechanisms.
At the moment I'd say your best bet is to write a letter or build a presentation explaining why you'd like the tools and asking for a license. Treat it like a fund raising event. If you need additional ideas, poke around on
http://www.ni.com/solutions/. Send the request to either your local sales representative or to someone at NI corporate in the academic department. If you can't find someone, send it to me.
Greg McKaskle