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Abstract

For the typical American sports fans, a night out to watch a college sporting event involves a celebration of athleticism, spirit, and teamwork. However, as of the 21st century, the act of purchasing and consuming alcohol has become increasingly complimentary to “enjoying the game” in a collegiate sports stadium. In the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the frontrunner in proliferating collegiate athletics. Yet, the NCAA and its over 1200 member schools “enjoy great profitability from selling and advertising alcohol.”1 As college sporting events continue to rival their professional counterparts in popularity and allegiance, attending a college stadium to view a game has developed its own attractive culture. Although this culture is known for its conviviality, the acceptance, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages during high-profile sporting events has become synonymous with the “college game day experience.” This trend is alarming because high risk drinking, defined as having five or more drinks in one sitting, is correlated to consequences from unintentional injury to poor academic performance among university students.2 Unfortunately, past actions to completely outlaw drinking in stadiums have been unsuccessful in determining the role of alcohol. Therefore, the best course of action for fans and lawmakers to end alcohol abuse begins with understanding why the stadium setting glorifies alcohol consumption. Through education, it is then possible to provide practical alcohol regulations that will make sports fans more inclined to casual – rather than excessive – drinking.

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