Some colleges say no to mixing beer, sports

By Pamela Brogan
Gannett News Service

New questions are being raised about the willingness of colleges to accept millions of dollars from the alcohol industry in TV advertising amid mounting evident that beer and college students are a dangerous mix. Sources: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV, Security on Campus Inc. Gannett News Service

For the alcohol industry, the games have meant a chance to spend millions advertising to a national TV audience. That marketing strategy uses the nation's top collegiate athletes to sell beer, even though many of those athletes are underage and it's illegal for them to drink it.

Beer advertisements on college sports broadcasts are nothing new. But new questions are being raised about the willingness of schools to accept millions from the industry amid mounting evidence that beer and college students are a dangerous mix.

Alcohol-fueled incidents are the leading cause of campus crime and health problems, and they sometimes result in death.

"We don't see how colleges teaming with beer advertisers is in the best interests of students," said George Hacker, director of the Alcohol Policies Project for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The center is asking 1,200 colleges and universities to sign what it calls the College Commitment, a pledge to eliminate alcohol-related television ads during sports events. The pledge applies to all levels of college sports, from local games to championship contests like the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament and national football bowls.

As of March 23, the group's Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV had signed up 105 schools, including three in the Big Ten Conference — Ohio State University, Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota. No WAC schools, including the University of Hawai'i, have joined the campaign yet.

"It's inconsistent to say you want to discourage underage drinking and turn around and huckster the stuff on your broadcasts," said Andy Geiger, athletic director for Ohio State, the first school to join the campaign. "I'm concerned about the message."

Underage drinkers

Beer industry officials deny their advertising targets underage drinkers and say there's no evidence that advertising encourages drinking among college students. They note that 87 percent of people who watch college basketball are 21 or older and that 57 percent of undergraduates are at least 21.

"I think it's ethical and good business, We want to be where our customers are," said John Kaestner, vice president of consumer affairs for Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.

The industry spent about $58 million in 2002 on commercials televised during college sports programs, according to The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University in Washington. That equaled about 10 percent of the industry's total TV sports spending that year.

Would UH ban alcohol sales or advertising?

Not without deeper analysis, which is not in the plans as of now, according to John McNamara, UH's associate athletics director of external affairs.

"I don't think we want to be knee-jerk about any of those things," he said. "I think if it came to (barring alcohol advertising and sales), it would have to be really thoughtful analysis that are we using an elephant to kill an ant? That type of thing. ... I haven't been privy to any conversations regarding that or removing alcohol advertising or alcohol sales from venues."

Asked if UH would lose significant sponsorship income without alcohol ads, McNamara said it wouldn't be a huge part, but they would lose some. "It would basically be us losing one of our platinum sponsors, which is in the six-figure range, which we don't want to do. But I don't think a large percentage of our corporate partnership is built upon alcohol."

NCAA leads way

NCAA tournament games led all other sports events in alcohol-related TV advertising in 2002, with 939 ads costing $28 million. That compares with a combined 925 ads aired during the Super Bowl, World Series, college bowl games and the NFL's "Monday Night Football."

The $33 million that the industry spent on television ads at NCAA games and football bowl games in 2002 accounted for more than 57 percent of the money the industry spent on TV ads at all college sports events that year.

Jeff Howard, a spokesman for the NCAA, denied that letting beer companies advertise during games sends a mixed message.

"We don't feel it's inconsistent with our mission," he said.

Many schools are so strapped for cash that they welcome the beer industry's money.

"Anheuser-Busch is our No. 1 corporate client when it comes to cash," said Mario Moccia, associate athletic director at the University of Missouri. "We are proud of our affiliation. We have to deal with real-world revenue issues."

Schools that have signed on to the no-beer-ads campaign take a different view.

"That's just not the image I want to convey," Rob Fournier, athletic director at Wayne State University in Detroit, said of the ads. "For years, I have brought in people to talk to my athletes about alcohol abuse. It just seems contradictory to me to take money from the beer industry."

Two sports legends — retired Hall of Fame college basketball coach Dean Smith and GOP Rep. Tom Osborne, formerly the head football coach at the University of Nebraska — are putting their celebrity status to work for the campaign by making speeches urging schools to join.

"The presidents of colleges have to have some courage and step forward," Smith said." You can't limit alcohol in college sports, you have to get rid of it."

Schools set own policies

At the local level, schools set their own policies on alcohol advertising. But a school that declines to accept beer advertising money during locally broadcast games often finds it doesn't have that option when it plays in a conference or tournament that allows the ads.

Catherine Bath, program director for Security on Campus Inc. in King of Prussia, Pa., said schools can no longer afford to take money from beer producers. Her group is dedicated to making colleges safer.

"College sports should not be associated with beer," Bath said. "The money is not worth it compared to the damage and chaos caused by alcohol on campus."

Bath's 20-year-old son, Raheem Bath, died five years ago as a result of binge drinking while a junior at Duke University.

Nationally, about 1,400 college and university students die and about 500,000 are injured each year from alcohol-related causes, according to studies. Another 600,000 students each year are assaulted by classmates who have been drinking.

The number of beer ads aired during college sports games bucks the trend in alcohol ads displayed on campuses.

Although most colleges and universities still allow beer ads during college sports broadcasts, 72 percent bar alcohol advertising on their campuses, according to a September report on underage drinking by the National Academy of Sciences.

Austin Chow, 22, a senior at the University of Maryland, said he supports the effort to ban alcohol advertising in college sports, but he doesn't know whether it would change the drinking habits of students.

"If it's a moral stand, schools should not accept money from the beer industry," Chow said. "But students are going to drink whether they see the ads or not."

Advertiser staff writer Michael Tsai contributed to this report.

Drinking on campuses affects students who don't drink, too

• 1,400 college students die every year in alcohol-related incidents.
• More than 600,000 college students are assaulted each year by other students who have been drinking.
• More than 500,000 college students are injured each year in alcohol-related accidents.
• There were 30,517 campus arrests for liquor law violations in 2002.
• Underage drinking costs the country $53 billion annually.
• About 5 percent of college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of drinking.
• More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem each year.
• About 2.1 million students 18 to 24 drive while intoxicated.
• Two of five college students are binge drinkers.
• More than 70,000 students annually are victims of date rape or sexual assault in incidents where alcohol is a factor.