Tennessee will serve alcohol

Tennessee will become the latest Southeastern Conference school to sell alcoholic beverages at upcoming home football games.

School officials said alcohol sales will begin with the second home game Sept. 7 game against Brigham Young.

SEC chancellors and school presidents voted in May to give league members the option of selling beer and wine in public areas at sporting events. Tennessee joins Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt in providing alcohol at upcoming football games.

Beer will be sold throughout Neyland Stadium at concession stands and kiosks, excluding areas near the student section. Wine will be sold in the Tennessee Terrace and East and West Clubs.

Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer says “we remain committed to providing a safe, positive, and family-friendly atmosphere in our venues and have measures in place to assure that standard is met.”

Miami

A second defensive back this week has announced he is leaving the Hurricanes and seeking a transfer. Redshirt freshman cornerback Nigel Bethel Jr. appeared in one game in 2018, the home opener against Savannah State. The 6foot, 175-pound speedster out of Miami Northwestern largely served as a member of the practice squad in 2018. Bethel’s decision comes after junior safety Derrick Smith opted to move on from the Hurricanes.

Louisiana

Players at the University of Louisiana are being encouraged to donate to the Ragin’ Cajuns Athletic Foundation, a booster organization that funds the athletic department. The donation is not mandatory, although this week coach Billy Napier said contributing a minimum $50 to become a member of the association was a team rule. The athletic department later clarified Napier’s comment saying student-athletes would be “encouraged” to join the foundation.

Elsewhere

Former South Carolina athletic director Mike McGee, a former Outland Trophy winner at Duke who hired Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier to lead Gamecocks football, died Friday. He was 80.