As TheGazette.com’s Marc Morehouse reported Wednesday in this post, there are a lot of “donor opportunities” for the University of Iowa’s new football facility.
The University of Iowa Foundation verifies that on its site, calling them “recognition opportunities.”
Some have already been reserved, including $5 million for the Iowa football operations building, $2 million for the consensus All-America room, and $2 million for the weight training facility.
If people or entities have that kind of cash to toss around, maybe it won’t be very difficult for Iowa to attract a $10 million donor for its highest-ticket item, the Football Performance Center.
But $10 million is still a lot of money. How much? It’s so much that no college football coach makes that much in a year. Yet.
I don’t think the UI needs to waste a lot of time chasing donors for the $10 million, though. All it has to do is call its business partner, beer baron Anheuser-Busch.
Anheuser-Busch recently entered into a 4-year marketing agreement with the university to use the school’s Tigerhawk logo with the company’s beer products, Budweiser, Bud Light and company. The caveat is that whenever it does, the item the logo sits upon must also most carry the message: “Responsibility Matters.”
In other words, Iowa says Bud and Bud Light are perfectly fine products. Just don’t get drunk on them. Even though university students are in the adult age group that drinks less responsibly than any other.
Maybe the “Responsbility Matters” message will make college kids think long and hard, and they’ll decide to only have one or two beers instead of six or eight. But you might have to be a little tipsy yourself to buy into that.
I digress. Let’s focus on the big issue here, which is a football performance center that needs to be funded. That can be done easily enough. Just persuade Anheuser-Busch to put up the $10 million.
If that sounds crazy to you, I would ask why. If Anheuser-Busch is good enough in the university’s mind to carry the school’s athletic logo, why wouldn’t it be good enough to name an Iowa football building?
The corporation can put a “Responsbility Matters” sign underneath its name on the facility. In fact, that could be the new motto of Hawkeyes football. Responsibility Matters. It’s a short slogant you can’t argue with in any walk of life.
Any time a UI student, or a UI student-athlete, or a Hawkeye fan sees the facility, the thing they will think first is that responsibility matters. And maybe the second thing, especially on a day as warm as today, would be “Ummm, beer.”
But just one or two. Because responsibility matters.
I mean, if you’re going to be a hypocrite, atleast sign a marketing agreement with Templeton Rye
Then incorporate the message, “Responsibility Matters: Add a bit more water to your whiskey.” C’mon, this is completely asinine.
Mike, on the topic of beer consumption, do you see Kinnick selling beer to us “common folk” down the road? Given sales in suites and now the fruition of advertising agreements. I thought Minnesota is trying to implement that in their new stadium (or already do), but I guess they need ANYTHING to put butts in the seats.
I don’t have a problem with it. Frankly, what’s asinine is that universities have to spend so much money trying to teach college students not to be idiots.
I agree with you about all the idiotic kids and their poor decisions at times. Regarding the university, you can’t have the position of discouraging the “drinking culture” and try to implement alternative options for entertainment, more early Friday classes, increased rules/enforcement of tailgating activities, etc. and then negotiate a lucrative deal from AB. Which Bud in itself is a beer that you intend on drinking many to get all buzzed up and not for it’s horribly mediocre taste. It’s a convoluted message; and yes I understand their “goal” is to present responsible drinking, but it still comes off with mixed signals. I love too how Iowa City gets all up in arms about this topic, go to Madison on a game day sometime to gain perspective, that’s a whole different level.
BEER for the common folk? you mean for the PEASANTS? the ones that make up the vast majority of those in attendance, the ones who can’t afford to drop dozen of benjamins to sit with the other snobs in snootyville in corporate sponsor land? you mean you think the university should allow THEM to enjoy a cold one at the games TOO?
surely you jest! to borrow a “quote” from the French revolution… “let them eat cake!”
I like it! If AB wants to put out the $$$ then why not let them. Students that want to drink are going to drink (as they do and have) weather you post the Bud sign or not.
GO HAWKS!!!
True, kids are going to drink regardless. I did when I was going to Iowa and spoiler, virtually every other college has this phenomena as well! The target of this debate is not with the students, but with the university. You can’t have Sally Mason preaching anti drinking sermons or if you will, “responsible drinking” and then accept cash money from beer companies. We all know they’re not really trying to push safe drinking with this deal, it’s simply all about the Benjamin’s (duh). Which is fine, everyone is trying to stay afloat and get paid, but when you have the stance the university has, it raises eyebrows.
I don’t think it raises eyebrows. If you don’t use alcohol then you are going to be anti that Iowa uses AB for the $$$$’s. Fact is take the dough, that doesn’t mean you have to drink. Hell we don’t even know if AB is going to give Iowa 10 mil
Why not Anheuser-Busch?
Perhaps because their name on a plaque at the entrance of a building wouldn’t achieve A-B’s goal of PUBLICIZING THEIR PRODUCTS.
You see, Hlas, there are different motivations involved in a MARKETING AGREEMENT versus a private donation.
Maybe the concept of Anheuser-Busch putting its name was in the vein of satire, a takeoff on the university’s questionable marketing agreement with a beermaker.
What’s with all the capital letters, by the way?
Satire? A satirist would need to know the difference between wit and snark.
The capital letters are used to EMPHASIZE a point.
It’s a useful device when dealing with young children or someone that doesn’t understand the differing motivations of an ADVERTISING campaign and a donation made for PERSONAL reasons.
Man, you people take yourselves too seriously. You’d think this was a forum for solving all the worlds problems. You all make me laugh. I’d say that the point of this article was lost in translation but that would be making excuses.
Fine Steve, name one world problem that CANNOT be solved at the Hlog!
(Actually, I assumed there would be plenty of “offended” folk at the though to A-B sponsoring ANYTHING at Iowa – especially considering all the folks around here that love swills like Milwaukee’s Best and Busch Light!)
Mike, I seem to remember Budweiser being a Hawkeye sponsor as far back as the 1970′s and 1980′s…
It wasn’t a big deal then..the only reason why it’s a big deal now is because of the UI’s supposed “crackdown” on binge drinking.
Any fool can see that the UI’s crackdown has more to do with the $$ they’re getting from special interest groups than it does about any real concern about “binge drinking”
If the UI was so concerned about it..they’d ban advertising in the student newspaper from bars, they’d kick kids out of school after a certain number of alcohol related arrests and ban alcohol being served anywhere on campus.
Mike, its not about “safety” its always been about $$ and where the UI can get it from.