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On April 28, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I
Board of Directors will meet in Indianapolis. The board of directors is made
up of 18 college presidents from Division I schools. The board’s agenda,
which includes a review of the organization’s alcohol policies, presents a
tremendous opportunity to forward one of the Campaign for Alcohol-Free
Sports TV’s major goals: to end beer ads during college sports.
227 schools have signed our College Commitment, pledging to support school,
conference, and NCAA policies that end beer ads (Click
here to see the
list). Of the 18 schools represented on the Division I board, only one (Kent
State) has signed the Commitment. We need to convince those 17 other
presidents to take a principled stand and end the practice of pitching beer
during college sports.
Your help is greatly needed. There are three action steps you can take
today to help break the tie between beer ads and college sports.
Write a Letter to the
Board
You are receiving this alert because you reside or work in the same state as
one of the Board members. Please send a letter to him/her, urging them to
vote to end the loophole that allows scores of beer ads on NCAA broadcasts,
and encourage others to write as well. (If colleagues or friends in other
states care about this issue, they are encouraged to send their letters to
Chairman Robert Hemenway, University of Kansas.)
Sample Letter
List of Presidents on the Div. I Board
Activate Your Network: Who
Can Help?
Find the most persuasive voice to speak to the college president: Who has
connections with the president or the college? Who in your community speaks
with authority about youth, alcohol, education, athletics, etc.? The more
letters you can generate, the better, but sometimes a well-timed appeal from
the right person will have a tremendous impact.
Get Your Local Paper On
the Story
College presidents read the newspaper, too. While your letter to the editor
would provide good visibility for the cause, an editorial written by the
newspaper’s editorial board would add great impact. The least you can do is
ask! We’ve provided all the tools you need to contact your local paper’s
editorial board. Simply adapt our sample memo as you see fit, and send it
off (via e-mail or fax). It takes little time and could make a huge
difference.
Sample Memo to an Editorial
Board
More Resources:
Learn more about the
Campaign for
Alcohol-Free Sports TV.
Read the Campaign’s April 1
press
release.
Read CSPI's
Letter to the NCAA Board.
To read more about the
NCAA’s review of its alcohol policies, read the Jan. 27 USA Today
article.
On Feb. 2, USA Today published
three letters to the editor; all support the Campaign’s concerns.
For more ways to take action, click
here.
For statistics on youth and alcohol, click
here.
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