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USF Doesn't Join Push To Get Beer Ads Off Televised Games

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 7, 2008

TAMPA - With a burgeoning college football team that is ranked -- in at least one preseason poll -- in the top 25 before the 2008 season begins, the University of South Florida is sure to see some national television time this fall.

During timeouts and halftime, there could be some advertisements for Budweiser or Miller or Coors beer.

Some in the world of college athletics don't think that's right and have filed a petition with the NCAA to give the bum's rush to beer ads.

Coaches, 102 of them, signed a petition calling for the elimination of alcohol advertisements on college athletics broadcasts, but none from USF did.

According to a copy of the petition posted on the Center for Science in the Public Interest Web site, other football coaches of Division 1 schools in Florida did sign it. Florida State University head coach Bobby Bowden's name is there, and so is Urban Meyer, head coach of the Florida Gators. George O'Leary, coach of the University of Central Florida, signed it as well.

Only three football coaches from among the top 25 teams -- Jim Tressel of Ohio State, Meyer of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Auburn University -- signed the petition.

A couple hundred athletics directors and university presidents signed letters of support for the ban.

The only university president of schools with the top 25 teams to sign a letter of support was Cecil O. Samuelson of 17th-ranked Brigham Young University.

No one from USF signed a letter of support.

Lara Wade, director of media relations for USF, said administrators and the athletics department were aware of the petition but decided to hold off on signing it until the matter can be discussed at the Big East conference in November.

She said other schools in the conference will decide then whether to endorse the measure.

"We want to work collaboratively on this," Wade said.

Of USF's 12 football games this fall, four will be shown to a national audience by ESPN, including games against nationally ranked University of Kansas on Sept. 12 and West Virginia University on Dec. 6, and two more will be on ESPN2.

"As college coaches," the petition states, "we are all too familiar with the problems caused by underage and excessive drinking on college campuses. Student athletes competing in NCAA sporting events should not be associated with the very product that causes them the most harm and is clearly not in their best interests.

"Alcohol and college sports are a bad mix."

The petition urges the NCAA to end all alcohol advertising by 2011. It is dated Aug. 4 and was sent to NCAA President Myles Brand.

The NCAA Division 1 executive committee met Wednesday in Indianapolis, but according to a synopsis of the meeting on the NCAA's Web site, the alcoholic beverages advertising issue did not come up.

Repeated calls to the NCAA were not returned.

The Division 1 executive committee last reviewed the alcohol advertising issue in 2005. As a result, only ads for products that don't exceed 6 percent alcohol by volume, mainly beer, are allowed. The committee also limited advertising of such products to one minute per hour.

Advertising industry officials estimate that Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors spent nearly $400 million on television sports ads in 2007.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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