Contact: Colleen Bentley, cbentley@calstate.edu 

(562) 951-4801

CSU Mascots to Star in “March Madness” Commercial

(March 10, 2008) – Six California State University campus mascots will be featured in a commercial during the NCAA’s upcoming basketball tournament, “March Madness.” The commercial is a partnership between Anheuser-Busch and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to promote students’ celebrating responsibly.

The 30-second television commercial, “Good, Clean Fun,” ran during last year’s games and was filmed in 2007 at the Cal State Long Beach Walter Pyramid and features the following campus mascots:

• Cal State Fresno Bulldog
• Cal State Fullerton Tuffy the Elephant  
• Cal State Long Beach Prospector Pete
• Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagle
• Cal State Northridge Matador
• Cal Poly Pomona Billy Bronco

The spot is scheduled to air during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament broadcasts on CBS during the following games:

• March 20 – 1:30 p.m. 
• March 20 – 9 p.m.        
• March 21 – 4:30 p.m. 
• March 22 – 6:30 p.m. 
• March 27 – 6 p.m. 

The commercial features mascots from 14 universities who receive pointers from a referee on how they can help promote celebrating responsibly and encourage fans to watch out for each other. 

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, approximately 450,000 students and 46,000 faculty and staff. Since the system was created in 1961, it has awarded nearly 2.5 million degrees, about 89,000 annually. Its mission is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California. See www.calstate.edu

NASULGC is the nation’s oldest higher education association. A voluntary association of 215 public universities, land-grant institutions and many of the nation’s public university systems, including the CSU, NASULGC campuses are located in all 50 states. www.nsaulgc.org.

Anheuser-Busch and its nationwide network of local distributors support programs in college markets that help retailers educate their employees on how to properly check IDs, prevent sales to minors and avoid alcohol abuse situations. They also implement safe-ride and designated driver programs.