Bourbon’s no answer but Bison open to ideas
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By HOWARD MANN
Booze and college is often a touchy subject, considering our society’s problems with underage drinking, drunk driving, date rape, etc. But that sensitivity hasn’t stopped the University of Louisville from engaging in a creative fundraising project with a … um … “spirited” corporate partner.
The Cardinal Athletic Fund and Maker’s Mark Distillery are teaming up to raise $1 million toward the creation of an academic center for Louisville’s athletes. The company’s famous Kentucky bourbon is being packaged in a limited edition, “Year of the Cardinal” bottle.
Not available in stores, the 500 specially-designed bottles commemorate Louisville’s historic 2013 – a Sugar Bowl victory in football, College World Series appearance in baseball, national runner-up finish in women’s basketball and national championship in men’s basketball.
The one-of-a-kind bottle is available to Cardinal donors for $2,000, with all proceeds earmarked for the $14 million Academic Center. Once completed, the state-of-the-art facility will house tutor rooms, learning labs and group study areas.
Maker’s Mark and Louisville have a contract for three bottle in three years, but the “Year of the Cardinal” bottle doesn’t count against that total. Previous bottles featured the image of football coach Charlie Strong (who just left for Texas) and men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino.
Bourbon and Kentucky go hand-in-hand, so maybe the partnership was a natural. But what product screams “Washington, D.C.!” and perhaps could be used by Howard University athletics in a fundraising capacity? Where’s the local corporate partner willing to be the Bison’s Maker’s Mark?
The search is on…
