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Beer sales may attract more fans

Mike Zoller

Believe it or not, Yager Stadium is missing something besides thousands of screaming Miami University students on game day.

And it is my belief that if Miami could add this one missing item to Yager the stadium wouldn't be so empty.

So what is this single mysterious object that would fill a stadium and increase RedHawk support?

Forgive me, Task Force on Alcohol Abuse Prevention, for saying this, but Yager is missing beer.

A mainstay at just about every professional sporting event, beer is notably absent from Yager, as well as just about 100 percent of other collegiate sporting events.

While big football bowl games and those games played at off-site stadiums offer beer, stadiums located on-campus are unable to serve beer to fans, whether they be students or adults.

While I understand that some college students don't know when to stop and that extreme alcohol consumption is a problem at just about every college in America, there are ways that we could make beer at college sporting events work.

Beer sales at Yager would need to be regulated, and regulated hard. Put more police in the stands and watch for underage drinking. Make an example of upperclassmen that break the law by buying for underage students. I'm in no way condoning underage drinking; I would like to make that very clear before you start flooding my e-mail with hate mail.

There are definitely cons for serving beer at Yager, however, I think there are some pros as well.

First off, Miami likes money.

I think we all know this based on parking tickets going up $10 this year and the sophomore housing initiative that will conveniently keep students on campus for a second year.

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If Miami served beer at Yager, for lets say $6 or $7 a bottle, perhaps it would just be enough money to allow the parking ticket ladies who patrol Miami's lots 24/7 to finally be a little lenient and for once maybe leave my car alone in the Shriver lot.

But seriously, that extra money would also be good for the upcoming projects Miami has planned around campus. The Athletic Department has plans for new buildings near Yager and the university is currently working on creating a new student union. The money made from beer sales would really get these projects off the ground quickly.

Secondly, student attendance at football games will definitely increase with the sale of beer. With more fans flocking to Yager, the electric college football atmosphere you see at so many other universities will finally be present in Oxford.

I would even go as far as allowing students to put beer on their meal plans. Having students swipe their ID for beer would allow Miami to monitor how much one student is buying and possibly put a limit on how much a student can buy during the course of a game.

And seriously, how cool would it be to put Budweiser on diplomat?

You also have to remember that students are only half of the fans that pack Yager Saturday afternoons. Across the field are thousands of non-students, alumni and Oxford residents, most of who are over 21 and possess more disposable income than that of a college student.

Far too often do the words "beer" and "college students" get tossed up with negative connotations and implications of alcoholism and chugging contests. If done correctly, selling beer at Miami will vastly increase both fan support for football and the university's budget.

So Yager fans, hopefully in the future this Bud will be for you.