Public universities are now allowed to sell beer, wine and cocktails at sporting events. This is after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a new law. But this is something Eastern Michigan University has been doing for a few years.
The athletic department started partnering with the EMU Foundation to receive a liquor license for special events, which were used for football games. This began in 2019.
According to EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee, it has been a positive addition to the program’s gameday offerings. He cites a study at West Virginia University as an example of improving safety at football games.
“People were binge drinking … tailgating all day and then drinking as much as they could before they come into the game, and they had a lot of issues in the stadium, and they actually saw issues in the stadium go down when they started allowing alcohol to be sold in the stadium.”
Wetherbee says the new law could open the door to increasing revenue for the athletic department through alcohol sales on football gamedays.
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