Two weeks ago in a follow up report on Big East game day alcohol policies, Rutgers said in a phone interview that, at the time, they did not sell alcohol during football games.
Likewise, Rutgers’ official stadium policy on alcohol reads " Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in Rutgers Stadium. Any spectator possessing alcohol will be asked to surrender it. Any spectator under the influence of alcohol will be asked to leave the stadium."
However, in a recent report by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, RU athletic director Tim Pernetti said that the university is considering beer sales during sporting events.
“We’re not being responsible if we’re not looking at these things and having some information on what it would look like,” Pernetti told the Star-Ledger.
"These things" likely refers to the fact that Rutgers and West Virginia are currently the only two Big East football members who do not sell beer in some capacity during football games, and West Virginia’s Board of Governors recently requested to amend BOG Policy 18 (section 4.1) that bans the sale of alcohol at sporting events.
The amendment is currently in the midst of a 30-day comment period. Voting by the BOG will take place through June 2-3 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.
WVU athletic director Oliver Luck has stated that the proposed controlled sale of alcohol — in conjunction with the prohibition of halftime pass-outs — at Milan Puskar Stadium will help control fan behavior and provide a financial benefit for the program projected somewhere between $500,000 and $1.2 million.
Pernetti also sees the financial benefit to the beer sales at football games
“With these things, there are two components to it: there’s revenue from the alcohol sales and then there’s revenue that comes through sponsorship. Because, as you can imagine, if you’re now providing it there are going to be brands interested in owning it and sponsoring it on your campus.”
Pernetti did not say how much he thought RU would stand to gain by allowing alcohol sales, and adds that it’s not an option the university is pursuing at the present time.