College football is big business. It costs money to recruit, train, equip, and feed the 105 football players allowed under NCAA regulations. Plus, you have the salaries of all the coaches, staff, and administrators. The top 25 head coaches have a salary of $6.3M – $11.4M, not counting bonuses; these incomes are a bit more than college professors or deans are paid.
A portion of football funding comes from public sources like tuition or taxes. The bulk of the money comes from alumni associations, or revenue from televised games. Yet athletic departments are reporting shortfalls in the millions of dollars. What to do? Raising ticket prices for home games won’t eliminate deficits and, besides, it would greatly irritate the fan base. Increasing tuition would be a political catastrophe. Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, or other billionaires might not be that interested in football.
Universities reached into Pandora’s Box and pulled out a solution. Alcohol. For years, alcoholic beverages were sold inside stadiums in private boxes. And, of course, outside the stadium beer and other spirits flowed freely at tailgate parties. For the past ten years, selling beer and wine for public consumption inside stadiums has been the norm1. This year, 55 of 69 schools in the Power Five (Big-10, Big-12, PAC-12, ACC, SEC) sell alcohol in the public areas of their stadiums.
The lure of big money has drawn more institutions to Pandora’s Box. The University of North Carolina is in its fifth year of selling booze, to the tune of about $4 million in sales this year. The University of Wisconsin did not sell alcohol at its football games, but will start selling intoxicating beverages at basketball and hockey home games.
The secular university viewpoints are what you might expect. “We’re not the first.” “Selling alcohol has simply become a new revenue stream.” One fan cried “boo” to the high prices inside the stadium, but favored getting as much booze into you as you can before going into the game!
For those of us watching a game at home on TV, there is a new challenge. If a camera pans a student naked from the waist up, in a snowstorm, with face and chest painted home team colors, are they a spirited fan or filled with spirits?
The Bible does not prohibit drinking alcoholic beverages unless you take the vow of a Nazirite (Leviticus 6:1-4) or you are going into the sanctuary (Leviticus 10:9). Scripture does, however, take a very grim view of drinking to excess. Like Noah, getting drunk can discredit your reputation and put families in turmoil (Genesis 9:20-27). Like Lot, sexual immorality can result from drinking excessively (Genesis 19:32-38). We may cause others to stumble by consuming too much wine (Romans 14:20-21). Overindulgence disqualifies someone from serving in a church leadership role (1 Timothy 3:3, 8).
Jesus set the example for us. He cheered those who obeyed His teachings, and booed those with wicked desires. He never rationalized sinful temptations that might cause someone to stumble. We ought to lead others, especially younger persons, the same way, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Nomads2 