And then there were seven... eventually.
Back in May, the SEC announced that it would give its member institutions “the autonomy to determine the permissibility of selling alcoholic beverages in its athletics venues” in general seating areas. Already, Arkansas (HERE), LSU (HERE), Missouri (HERE), Texas A&M (HERE), Tennessee (HERE) and Vanderbilt (HERE) have embraced the shift in policy.
Friday afternoon, Ole Miss announced plans to sell beer during football games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium this season. The only catch? The new policy will only be in place for the final three home games of the year, beginning with the Oct. 19 matchup with Texas A&M and finishing up with New Mexico State Nov. 9 and LSU the following weekend.
Home dates against Arkansas (Sept. 7), Southeast Louisiana (Sept. 14), Cal (Sept. 21) and Vanderbilt (Oct. 5) will be, as has previously been the case, dry.
It had previously been reported that the university was leaning against alcohol sales this fall.
“This is another opportunity to enhance what is already one of the premier gamedays in college football,” said interim athletic director Keith Carter in a statement. “I want to thank Chancellor Sparks and the rest of our university administration for their leadership and support during this process. We expect this decision to help reduce incidents associated with overconsumption on gamedays. The athletics department will work hand-in-hand with other campus officials and within the guidelines of the SEC to ensure a safe and responsible environment for all fans.”
While more than half of the league will sell alcohol in 2019, not all conference members have embraced the change. Yet.
Georgia was the first SEC school to announce that it would not be expanding alcohol sales, at least this fall. Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky (HERE) and South Carolina (HERE) have also joined UGA in not (yet) taking advantage of the SEC’s shift in policy.
Florida and Mississippi State are the only other SEC schools that have not publicly stated its alcohol intentions, one way or the other, for the 2019 campaign.