Daily Sundial
Alcoholic drinks will no longer be served at any California State University athletic event, according to an executive order issued by the CSU Chancellor.
Executive Order 966, released in December 2005, places regulations on alcohol advertisement on CSU campuses. The order includes 15 regulations campuses have to follow when considering advertisement from alcohol companies.
“Those are the venues where students are at risk of overusing alcohol and (drinking) illegally,” said Clara Potes-Fellow, CSU spokesperson.
CSUN was among 17 campuses not selling alcohol at sporting events during the time the executive order was announced.
CSUN officials said alcohol was available at the university in the past only during football games. Football brought in tailgaters and spectators to the games.
In 2001, the football program was dropped, along with alcohol at sporting events.
“Even before the policy we, as a university, were not serving alcoholic beverages at our sporting events,” said John Chandler, CSUN spokesperson.
The Alcohol Policies and Prevention Committee first recommended the executive order, Potes-Fellow said. The committee is made up of CSU presidents and trustees, and is headed by John Welty, CSU Fresno president.
CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed appointed a committee to review the systems alcohol policies and prevention programs, according to the Alcohol Policies and Prevention Committee final report released in July 2001.
The committee was created in 2000 in response to the alcohol-induced death of a Cal State Chico student and incidents of alcohol-poisoning at San Diego State University, according to the final report.
The order recognizes that several CSU campuses have contractual agreements with alcohol companies to sell their beverages at their sporting events, according to an executive order from the Chancellor’s office.
The universities that have contracts will be allowed to fulfill their contracts with the alcohol companies, but will not be allowed to renew them once they have expired, according to the executive order.
Budweiser currently sponsors CSUN, said Ryan Finney, assistant athletic director for media relations. The agreement with Budweiser, which currently has an ad on the score-rite, expires next year. CSUN will honor the sponsorship with Budweiser throughout 2006, officials said.
Budweiser has sponsored CSUN, despite the absence of alcoholic beverages at school sporting events.
The Chancellor’s Office has no estimate of how much revenue the CSU system will lose with the loss of alcohol sales, Potes-Fellow said.
Chandler said the money CSUN collects from the sponsorship is not a significant amount.
The financial impact CSUN will experience because of the ban will not be known until next year when the Budweiser contract expires, Finney said.
Budweiser could choose not to renew its sponsorship with CSUN.
CSUN currently has no plans to implement more alcohol restrictions on other areas of campus.
The Pub Sports Bar and Grill and the Student Housing department have remained unaffected by the ban.
Victor Flores can be reached at Vjf70342@csun.edu.
