Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith and Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), a former University of Nebraska football coach, said universities that make money on the ads promote underage drinking on campus.

According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University, about $58 million was spent on alcohol ads during college sports programs in 2002. The money from the 6,251 ads aired was divided among the networks and the universities that drew the most viewers.

"The biggest problem we have on college campuses today is alcohol," said Osborne. "I'm clearly baffled over how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which supposedly stands for the right values at athletic events, can condone making a fair amount of their income off of alcohol advertising."

According to the NCAA, individual athletic conferences and their schools determine which sponsors can advertise during its season of games and sports-related shows.

The NCAA controls the advertising for championship games and allows 60 seconds of alcohol commercials each hour for beverages that do not exceed 6 percent in alcohol by volume.

"We are constantly reviewing our policies and guidelines around advertising," said Jeff Howard, an NCAA spokesman. "But if our membership deem it appropriate to make changes, then they will institute legislation on a case-by-case basis."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:
Comment: (limit 200 words)
Enter this word (help):	Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.
   
   
2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).
   
   
3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.