The Southeastern Conference has revised its alcohol policy, giving each of the league’s 14 institutions the autonomy to determine what is permissible at its athletic venues.
There will be accompanying league-wide expectations from a management standpoint, and schools are by no means required to sell alcohol.
“Our policy governing alcohol sales has been a source of considerable discussion and respectful debate among our member universities in recent years,” league commissioner Greg Sankey said Friday as the SEC’s spring meetings in Destin, Florida, came to a close. “As a conference, we have been observant of trends in the sale and consumption of alcohol at collegiate sporting events and have drawn upon the experiences and insights of our member schools which have responsibly established limited alcohol sales within controlled spaces and premium seating areas.
“We remain the only conference to set forth league-wide standards for the responsible management of the sale of alcoholic beverages.”
Fans line up to watch Georgia football players and coaches file into Sanford Stadium before the Bulldogs’ game against Tennessee last September in Athens.Alcoholic beverages will continue to be sold and dispensed only at designated stationary locations. No alcohol will be sold by vendors within the seating areas.
Before Friday’s revision, SEC schools had been prohibited from selling alcohol in public areas of athletic venues. In recent years, LSU football games and Auburn and Texas A&M baseball games have included designated areas to purchase alcohol, but fans had to remain in those areas while drinking.
Georgia announced earlier this week that it will sell alcohol in a premium-seating area of Sanford Stadium, with donors in that area giving more than $25,000 over a five-year period.
The SEC’s revised policy comes after a recommendation by a working group of campus leaders created during last year’s spring meetings. The working group included Troy Lane, the chief of police at the University of Tennessee.
Any sales of alcoholic beverages in public areas will be limited to beer and wine, and each institution that sells alcohol will be required to implement a server training program. The new policy, which goes into effect Aug. 1, does not impact suites or clubs in which the sale of alcoholic beverages was permitted before under previous SEC regulations.
“We are proud of the great game-day atmospheres the SEC and our member schools have cultivated throughout our history, and no other conference rivals the SEC in terms of our ability to offer an intense yet family-friendly atmosphere for all of our fans,” said South Carolina president Harris Pastides, the chair of SEC presidents and chancellors. “This policy is intended to enhance the game-day experience at SEC athletics events by providing our schools the autonomy to make appropriate decisions for their respective campuses while also establishing expectations for responsible management of the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.”
The league has established stop times for alcohol sales, including the end of the third quarter in football and women’s basketball, the 12-minute timeout in men’s basketball, the middle of the seventh inning in baseball and the middle of the fifth inning in softball.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.