University Of Michigan Bans Bottled Water At Big House, But There Are Water Fountains

If you're one of the 110,000 or so people heading to a Michigan football game at the Big House this fall, leave your water bottles at home -- they're prohibited. 

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Starting with the season opener against UConn on Sept. 4, bottled water is banned, university officials confirmed. They said the policy was enacted for a variety of reasons and free water will be inside for the 100,000-plus fans attending each game.

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Athletic department spokesman Bruce Madej said the ban is to speed up the process of getting fans through the gates. In the past, workers would check all the bottled water at the entrances to make sure they were sealed (and not containing any other beverage or, heaven forbid, something dangerous). 

As you know, Michigan recently completed renovations to the stadium, so many ticket holders believe the bottled water ban is a ploy to earn some money back, but Madej insists the university is not looking to make any money off of the ban. That might not be their main intention, but they're bound to make money off of it. Fans are not going to want to trek back and forth for sips out of the fountain (drinking more than a sip gets you the "hey, save some for the fish!" taunts) or a Dixie cup of barely-any-water. The ban is going to force many fans to simply buy the $4 bottled water(s) option, so they can get their trip to the overcrowded concessions area out of the way and enjoy their water from their seats at their convenience.

Naturally, the ban has raised many complaints over the past month, so Michigan officials want to remind the angry, thirsty fans that the stadium does have 28 water fountains and 40 concession stands that will serve free, most likely Dixie, cups of water. Also, the first 25,000 fans (23%) will receive a commemorative bottle of water at the Sept. 4 game against UConn. 

If university officials were worried about getting people into the stadium quicker (and safe), they should now probably worry about overcrowded concessions causing fans to miss bits of the game and at least a few more instances of dehydration.