Last modified: Thursday, April 8, 2010
Spring football game to mark start of IU Athletic Department initiative, Greening Cream & Crimson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The annual Cream & Crimson Spring Game, to be held at 6 p.m. on April 17 at Memorial Stadium, will be more than an intrasquad scrimmage for the IU football team this year. The event will also serve as a pilot project for the IU Athletic Department's new initiative, Greening Cream & Crimson.
The game marks the first event to be held as part of the IU Athletic Department's effort to become the 'greenest' athletic department in the Big Ten Conference.
"This is an excellent opportunity to educate and engage the community, and for IU Athletics to fully embrace our role in campus sustainability efforts. We're very excited about launching the Greening Cream and Crimson initiative, and piloting green athletic events," said Chris Reynolds, senior associate athletic director.
The success of this first 'green' athletic event at IU hinges greatly on the help of the Cream & Crimson Green Team, a group of about 75 volunteers who will be assisting with the many new initiatives taking place on game day. These initiatives include:
- Carbon Neutrality. IU will offset carbon produced by electricity use, transportation and food consumption during the game by trading out 100 W incandescent bulbs with the equivalent 23 W Condensed Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) in the Bloomington area.
- Recycling During Tailgating. Volunteers will circulate the tailgate area, distributing bags (clear for recycling, black for trash) and educating and encouraging fans to recycle.
- Recycling Inside Memorial Stadium. Volunteers will co-locate trash and recycling bins in the stadium, educate and encourage fans to recycle, and supervise recycling efforts.
- Vendor Waste Reduction. Volunteers will help supervise recycling to reduce contamination of cardboard and paper.
- Eco-Cell Phone Collection. Volunteers will supervise the collection of cell phones for recycling during the game. Recycled phones reduce the destruction of gorilla habitat, and proceeds from the Eco Cell phone collection will benefit campus sustainability efforts at IU.
- Bike Valet. Volunteers will valet bicycles on the west concourse of Memorial Stadium, encouraging alternate modes of transportation to athletic events
In addition to these new 'green' initiatives, campus environmental groups are invited to set up educational booths in Memorial Stadium during the game to highlight other on-campus sustainability efforts.
"As an IU football season ticket holder, Varsity Club member, IU alumnus and director of sustainability, I could not be more pleased with the leadership Fred Glass and his capable staff at IU Athletics have demonstrated in leading Indiana University and, ultimately, the Big Ten to a more sustainable future," said Bill Brown, director of the IU Office of Sustainability.
Interested in volunteering and becoming a part of the first Cream & Crimson Green Team? Contact IU Office of Sustainability intern Isaac Farley at ibfarley@indiana.edu.
Information about the IU Office of Sustainability is available at https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain.
