IOWA CITY (KWWL) -
The University
of Iowa's contract
renewal with beer giant, Anheuser-Busch, calls for payments of $ 50,000 a year,
for the next four years.
The money will help fund the University of Iowa's
highly publicized anti-binge drinking program. University of Iowa
President, Sally Mason, revealed the dollar amount Thursday in an interview
with Iowa Public Radio.
The contract renewal is part of a larger marketing contract between
the University of
Iowa and Learfield Communications.
Learfield handles all University
of Iowa sports marketing
through Hawkeye Sports Properties.
Hawkeye Sports Properties is a private
company, owned by Learfield. Iowa State University
and the University
of Northern Iowa also
have sports marketing contracts with Missouri-based Learfield.
The University
of Iowa's new agreement
allows Anheuser-Busch to use the famous Iowa Tigerhawk on certain retail displays
and promotions. While the Tigerhawk logo might show up next to a display for
Budweiser, the words, "Responsibility Matters" must also appear on the display
as a part of an anti-binge drinking message.
The University of Iowa's
Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs, Rick Klatt, told KWWL-TV last
week, "Everywhere the Tigerhawk appears, a responsible drinking message would
also appear in comparable size, which is important."
The deal has it critics. University of Iowa
sophomore, Melina Neves, believes the agreement is counter-productive. "I think
Iowa is
already notorious for being a party school and I don't think we really need any
more help."
Rick Klatt thinks the anti-drinking message carries a lot of
weight. Klatt says, "That's the idea. The idea is at the very point of sale
that we are reminding people to be safe, legal and responsible with their
consumption."
