Protect Young Fans

On July 7, 2026, the Big 12 Conference made Monster Energy the entitlement partner of its football and basketball seasons.1 A stimulant brand will now appear on student-athlete uniforms, playing surfaces, channels, and social media seen by millions of children and teenagers.

Leading medical organizations — the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians — recommend that children and adolescents neither consume energy drinks nor be marketed them.2-5 Yet they carry no age restriction and come in candy-inspired flavors appealing to children.6,7

Conference sponsorship is not ordinary advertising. The sponsor becomes part of the conference's identity — on jerseys, fields, channels, and social media reaching millions of young fans.8-12 They don't see a contract. Young fans see an endorsement by their favorite teams and athletic heroes.

These recommendations reflect the well-documented health concerns with energy drinks. Thousands visit emergency departments each year after drinking them, nearly half with cardiac complaints.15 Blood pressure rises and the heart's electrical recovery lengthens within hours.16 Serious rhythm problems and deaths have been reported, mostly in young people.17,18 Children are not small adults: the same can is a far larger dose for a smaller body.