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In the first week of August, the National
Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) top policy-making body, the
Executive Committee, will meet in Indianapolis. The Executive Committee
is made up of 19 college leaders from all three athletic divisions.
You may recall that in April, the Division I board asked the Committee to
review the organization’s alcohol policies. The Campaign generated
hundreds of emails to the Division I board members before that April
meeting, sending them a clear message that their communities are concerned
about beer ads during NCAA broadcasts. Now we have another excellent
opportunity to educate and advocate, and we hope you will join us!
228 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 signers). Of the 19 schools represented on the Executive
Committee, two (Saint Leo University, SUNY Plattsburgh) have 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.**
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There are
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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
(AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IN, MN, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA) as one of
the Executive Committee 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 Walter Harrison, University of Hartford.)
Click here to see a Sample Letter
Click here to see Contact Information for the
Executive Committee Members
ACTIVATE YOUR NETWORK:
WHO CAN HELP?
Find the most persuasive voice to speak to the Committee member: Who has
connections with the member 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 and Athletic Directors 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.
Click here to see a Sample Memo to an
Editorial Board
For
further information, contact Amy Gotwals, Manager of Grassroots Advocacy, at
agotwals@cspinet.org or (202) 332-9110.
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