IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 145

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the National 

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should affirm its commitment 

to a policy of discouraging alcohol use among underage students by 

ending all alcohol advertising during radio and television broadcasts 

of collegiate sporting events. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2005

Mr. OSBORNE (for himself, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. 

CASE, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 

should affirm its commitment to a policy of discouraging 

alcohol use among underage students by ending all alcohol advertising during radio and television broadcasts 

of collegiate sporting events.

Whereas college and university presidents have cited alcohol 

consumption as the number one health problem on college 

and university campuses; 

Whereas according to a study on alcohol by the Harvard 

School of Public Health, the proportion of college stu-
2

•HRES 145 IH 

dents who say they drink ‘‘to get drunk’’ climbed from 

40 percent in 1993, to 48 percent in 2001; 

Whereas according to the National Institute on Alcohol 

Abuse and Alcoholism, 2 of 5 college students are binge 

drinkers; 1,400 college students die each year from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle crashes; more 

than 70,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual 

assault or date rape; and 500,000 students are injured 

under the influence of alcohol each year; 

Whereas at least 50 percent of college student sexual assault 

cases involve alcohol abuse, and 62 percent of men involved in such assaults, including rape, blame alcohol for 

their actions; 

Whereas the financial costs of alcohol-related harms to institutions of higher education are significant, and include 

damage to campus property, lost tuition from students 

who drop out or become academically ineligible to attend, 

college personnel who address alcohol-related issues, college counseling centers, security staff, administrative 

hearings on academic and disciplinary cases, and legal 

costs of suits against colleges for liability; 

Whereas research has found that college students who were 

sports fans were more likely to engage in binge drinking 

behavior, including extreme drinking habits and participation in drink price specials and beer-company promotions; 

Whereas National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bylaws specifically state that advertising policies of the association are designed to exclude those advertisements 

that do not appear to be in the best interest of higher 

education; 
3

•HRES 145 IH 

Whereas alcohol advertisements aired during televised NCAA 

championship games appeared twice as often, on average, 

than during other sports programs, and 16 times as often 

on average than during all television programs; 

Whereas according the the Center on Alcohol Marketing and 

Youth, in 2003, alcohol producers spent a total of 

$52,200,000 to place 4,747 commercials in college sports 

programs, and spent $21,056,952 to place 395 commercials during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament; 

Whereas according to a 2003 survey by the Global Strategy 

Group, 72 percent of Americans say that showing alcohol 

commercials during televised sporting events is inconsistent with the positive role sports play in children’s 

lives, and 69 percent believe that airing such commercials 

is inconsistent with the mission of colleges and universities; 

Whereas according to the same survey, 71 percent of adults 

support a ban on all alcohol advertisements on televised 

college games, and strong majorities of both parents (77 

percent) and adults (73 percent) say it is wrong for colleges and universities to take money from beer companies 

that promote student drinking while discouraging underage and binge drinking among their students; 

Whereas a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National 

Academy of Sciences states that 72 percent of colleges 

and universities prohibit on-campus alcohol advertising, 

and 62 percent prohibit industry sponsorship of athletic 

events; 

Whereas that report also recommended that colleges and universities ban alcohol advertising and promotion on cam-
4

•HRES 145 IH 

pus in order to demonstrate their commitment to discouraging alcohol use among underage students; and 

Whereas the removal of alcohol advertisements from college 

sports broadcasts would not entirely eliminate underage 

or harmful student drinking, but would stop those broadcasts from contributing to an environment that glamorizes and promotes the connection between alcohol and 

sports: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the National Collegiate Athletic Associa3 tion (NCAA), its member colleges and universities, and 

4 athletic conferences, should affirm a commitment to a pol5 icy of discouraging alcohol use among underage students 

6 and other young fans by ending all alcohol advertising 

7 during radio and television broadcasts of collegiate sport8 ing events.

Æ