2019 SEC Media Days: 5 things for Vols fans to focus on

5. How will alcohol sales affect the league

This year’s SEC Media Days takes place a month and a half after the league officially lifted the ban on in-stadium alcohol sales. The alcohol is only beer and wine and has to be discontinued at a certain time for every sport, which is at the end of the third quarter in football.

How each school implements this alcohol policy is going to be interesting for a couple of reasons. For starters, you wonder if any school will start branding itself with a unique alcoholic beverage that can help sell the program as a whole.

On top of that, however, there’s also the wonder if this will affect attendance. Remember, attendance has been dropping across the college football landscape the past few years, and despite being the top conference in the nation when it comes to that, the SEC is still a victim like everybody else.

As a result, you have to wonder if this was done as a way to bring fans back into the stadium. Now, when it comes to the Vols, athletic director Phillip Fulmer said they are headed down the road of alcohol sales in the stadium. But there’s a chance that the policy won’t be properly implemented in time for the season-opener against the Georgia State Panthers.

That’s a concern depending on what other teams do and if it affects attendance. And it’s a reason to pay attention to this policy. The last thing UT wants this fall is to be late to the party on sales, have it affect attendance, and then recruits see other places in the SEC have better showings. So yes, this policy is a big deal.