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Wisconsin's New Camp Randall Alcohol Policy Will Make Athletes Richer

Camp Randall will offer Potosi Brewing's 'Varsity Golden Ale' in stadium and 20% of sales will be given back to Wisconsin's Varsity NIL Collective

Noah Henderson

Bucky Badger mingles with fans who gather outside Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire, to welcome the Wisconsin women's hockey team before its NCAA national semifinal against Colgate at on Friday March, 22, 2024.
Bucky Badger mingles with fans who gather outside Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire, to welcome the Wisconsin women's hockey team before its NCAA national semifinal against Colgate at on Friday March, 22, 2024. / Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal
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Yesterday, the University of Wisconsin became the sixteenth school in the Big Ten to offer alcohol during football games in its general seating area. The historic change, which has garnered much praise from Wisconsin fans, will go into effect during their first home game on August 30th when the Badgers take on Western Michigan –– with a 24.5 point spread favoring Wisconsin, those in attendance may rely on the new offerings to keep entertained. 

While Wisconsin football lagged behind the contemporary practice of allowing alcohol during games, it is among the pioneers of leveraging in-stadium alcohol sales to benefit its student-athletes. Wisconsin is one of many schools whose NIL Collective has partnered with a local craft brewery to make a co-branded novelty beer that redirects part of the sales price to athletes. 

Varsity Golden Ale is the creation of a partnership between Potosi Brewing and Wisconsin’s NIL arm, The Varsity Collective. Using Badger-inspired branding, the unique brew pledges 20% of all sales back to The Varsity Collective to provide “earning opportunities required for the Badgers to continue competing for championships.” Simply put, sales of Varsity Golden Ale aid Wisconsin in recruiting and bolster the payment packages the Badgers can offer their revenue athletes in the NIL-rich Big Ten. Unlike many NIL Collective funding solicitations, NIL beer offers a valuable good to those who want to support their team.

According to a source within the Wisconsin Athletic Department: “While our complete beverage lineup has not been finalized, we are excited to confirm that Varsity Golden Ale will be available at Camp Randall Stadium this season.” The allowance of alcohol will, without a doubt, help increase the revenue generated at Wisconsin football games, but Wisconsin is also primed to utilize NIL beer sales in-stadium to allow fans to contribute to NIL initiatives, feel more connected to their team, and support local business. 

Wisconsin is among the early adopters of this practice. Within the Big Ten alone, Iowa’s Swarm Golden Ale, USC’s Fight on! Pale Ale, Minnesota’s Duck Duck Beer, and others have moved their NIL beers beyond liquor store shelves and into the stadium. Camp Randall’s change of alcohol policy will not just make fans a bit happier, but will also make student-athletes a bit richer. 

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Noah Henderson

NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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