Examining the Financial Impact of Alcohol Sales on Football Game Days: A Case Study of a Major Football Program
in Journal of Sport ManagementClick name to view affiliation
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As college athletic departments continue to seek additional sources of revenue to remain competitive, alcohol sales on game day increasingly has been considered as a potentially lucrative and untapped revenue source. Despite the seemingly high profitability from alcohol sales, the increased availability of alcohol coupled with its consumption by a large number of individuals has negative social consequences, including assaults, arrests, and other behavioral risks, causing potential ethical and social responsibility dilemmas for athletic departments and universities. Utilizing self-disclosed financial data (via interviews and documents) from a major college football program, this case study examines the financial implications of selling alcohol to the general public on football game days. Through proforma financial analysis, two revenue models are created to show the incremental revenue potential of alcohol sales. Results show that for this institution the incremental financial impact from alcoholic beverage sales does not create sufficient benefit to pursue this avenue of funding. This conclusion, however, must be examined within the larger resources, contextual constraints, and expectations of particular institutions for both competitive advantage and social responsibility.
Huang and Dixon are with the Dept. of Kinesiology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
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