• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 7, 2008

You can almost hear beer marketing executives gulping -- or spraying out some beer foam.

NCAA College sports coaches, and some college presidents, think beer and other alcohol advertising on TV networks sets a bad example -- especially since, in their eyes, alcohol is a growing problem on campus. In a letter sent to NCAA officials, they charge that student beer use doesn't need to be encouraged.

They call on the NCAA executives to send a message to TV networks and programmers, especially those with big TV contracts -- CBS' NCAA College Basketball Tournament in March and Fox' Bowl Championship Series, scheduled around New Year's Day -- where beer marketers spend barrels of media dollars.

The message: Stop beer and alcohol-related TV advertising during NCAA sporting events.

Of course, the problem isn't with all college students per se, just those who abuse their alcohol consumption. In many states the legal drinking age is 18 -- which has always been a strong argument from spirit marketers. While a few states completely ban alcohol usage for people under 21, the majority have exceptions that permit consumption.

Perhaps then NCAA coaches should petition local and state lawmakers to raise the consumption age, which could then slow down the on-campus problem -- in theory.

But if that happens, here's something else that'll slow down: TV advertising money. Beer marketers have been a dominant TV advertiser of NCAA sports -- even with the restriction of airing products that don't exceed alcohol levels of 6%, and allowing only one minute per hour of any telecast to be devoted to alcohol-related commercials.

If beer and other alcohol marketers can't advertise during NCAA events on TV, all that drives down TV advertising demand and revenues, which in turn means networks can't pay as much money to the NCAA for those lucrative TV sports contracts, which in turn means less money for colleges, and maybe even coaches' salaries.

This long-time issue continues to nag at NCAA and TV programming and advertising executives.

But if college presidents are now ready to take a bigger hit in the pocket, then TV networks have to worry about generating some new TV sports advertisers to replace those lost fluids.

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