Fresno State gets green light to sell beer at football games

Fresno State has been given the green light to sell beer at football, baseball and softball games following an executive order by California State University Chancellor Timothy White that repealed a previous system-wide policy.

On June 30, White issued an executive order that “removes the prior prohibition on the sale and service of alcoholic beverages at athletic events, allowing campuses to decide if they wish to do so responsibly.”

The new policy leaves the sale of alcohol to the discretion of each campus.

“Fresno State is considering the sale of alcohol at some of its athletic venues, but will exercise operational ​discretion with​in each​ ​venue as appropriate,” Vice President for Administration Deborah Adishian-Astone said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.​

“We are also working to develop a campus policy within the next few weeks that will include specific requirements as required by the Executive Order including a proposed operational plan for implementation this fall.”

A plan discussed among athletic department officials would limit beer sales and consumption at football games to certain locations in Bulldog Stadium. There would be no such restrictions at baseball and softball games.

Alcohol sales at all university-owned-and-operated athletic facilities have been prohibited since 2006.

While alcohol has been blamed for unruly fan behavior, particularly at Bulldogs football games in the early 2000s, its reintroduction would provide a potentially large revenue source for a financially challenged athletic department that is adding two more sports – wrestling and women’s water polo – in 2017-18.

About 40 of the 128 schools with FBS football teams sell alcohol at games, and that number has climbed steadily over the last decade. Earlier this month, Wyoming became the latest Mountain West Conference school added to the list, joining Nevada, UNLV, Colorado State and San Diego State. (The Aztecs play in an off-campus stadium that isn’t subject to CSU policy.)

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Fresno State gets green light to sell beer at football games."