Tin Roof Brewing Company’s Bayou Bengal lager became the officially licensed beer of LSU in late Aug. 2016. It may go down as the first and last beer ever licensed by the University.
Rep. Cedric Glover, D-Shreveport, first introduced House Bill 610 on March 31, which proposed outlawing the branding or marketing of an alcoholic beverage based on a public university. The bill has received criticism from many, including LSU President F. King Alexander.
Alexander criticized Glover’s comments and defended the University’s decision to generate revenue in a time where funding can be difficult. He declined to comment for this story.
LSU and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette both have official licensed lagers, and both universities receive proceeds from sales that contribute to funding educational and athletic resources. Tin Roof’s Bayou Bengal features a purple and gold design, an illustration of a tiger and a trademarked GEAUX TIGERS on containers. 15 percent of the proceeds go to the University.
Bayou Teche Brewing began distributing Ragin’ Cajuns Genuine Louisiana Ale at University of Louisiana at Lafayette football games this past fall with an unspecified number of proceeds going to the university’s academic, research and athletic programs.
Glover believes the marketing of alcohol through an educational facility is both immoral and something students should be aware and ashamed of, he said. The need for funding at Louisiana’s public institutions should not result in the universities compromising their morals, Glover said.
“You have a combination of a record amount of money cut from the state’s general fund, the highest in the nation, and also a corresponding record-setting increase in tuition. This reality should not create a set of circumstances where we engage in these types of practices that can [become] problematic,” Glover said in an interview with The Daily Reveille. “[Students] should not be used and exploited as a basis of generating revenue.”
The use of universities to market alcoholic beverages has been increasingly debated recently. In Aug. 2014, Coors Light set up six billboards close to the University of Illinois’ campus, marketing the beverage as “The Official Beer of the Fighting Illini.” The university reached an agreement for a return of “six figures” of revenue from Coors Light until university officials elected to have the billboards taken down. The university officials did not expect the advertisements to be placed so close to campus and felt they presented a negative image of the school.
Glover also pointed out Budweiser has been distributing Bud Light in purple and gold cans for years without any sort of revenue going to the University. He said students should be discouraged by the fact the University is generating revenue off of their work, without them ever seeing any of it.
“If that logic makes sense for [Alexander] in his capacity as University president, then that same logic should extended to [students] in [their] various endeavors at the University that bring pride, prestige, popularity and demand.” Glover said. Tin Roof did not respond when asked about the proposed bill.