“There is movement all over the country for universities to start selling alcohol and accepting alcohol companies’ sponsorships,” said David Jernigan, the director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Johns Hopkins University. “To the extent that they’re lending their mascots, allowing companies to put their ads in the university’s colors.”
“Studies have consistently found that the more exposure students have to alcohol marketing, the more likely they are to start drinking,” Jernigan said. “This is further embedding and normalizing alcohol use on college campuses, in college populations.”
Still, more campuses are stepping up:
On July 26, the University of Houston named Bud Light its official beer, making it available for sale during athletic events. And the beer’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has the rights to use elements of the university’s brand in its marketing.
The University of Texas-Austin announced a similar partnership with Corona in July, the first for that beer company with a university. The campaign — taglined “Horns up, Limes In!” — will include a special “Corona Beach House” tailgate area located near the university’s football stadium, where fans can take photos with Corona’s “iconic” Adirondack chair, the company said.
Like Tulane, Louisiana State University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette have both made branded beer deals with breweries in recent years.
The number of universities allowing alcohol at sporting events has grown. In the past month alone, Purdue University, Marshall University and California State University-Fresno have introduced or expanded alcohol sales in their sports arenas. And last spring, LSU said it was planning to put a beer garden in the stadium instead of selling it at concession stands.
The alcohol industry news site VinePair reported in 2015 that 34 college stadiums allowed the sale of alcohol, a figure that doubled over the previous six years. Currently, the SEC restricts alcohol sales in stadiums, but the Tuscaloosa News reported in April that those rules might be relaxed.
And these sales can mean big money. Ohio State reportedly made over $1.1 million in alcohol sales in the 2016 season, its first season of selling alcohol in the stadium. UT Austin brought in over $3.3 million last fall from stadium sales, a 70% jump over the previous football season.
The growth in alcohol-university partnerships reflects beer companies’ desire for expansion at a time when beer sales growth isn’t keeping up with spirits and wine, particularly among Millennials."
Does this article mean that there will now be MORE drinking on college campuses? Is that possible?
...and as for the normalization part...isn't that what we should be doing instead of demonizing it and making it a forbidden fruit?
