Say you’ll pay for free beer, and they will come. We reported on Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum and his goal to get the stadium packed for his players by any means necessary. Coach Burham offered to pay for every fan’s beer that shows up to the next home game.
Well, he is a man of his word as more than 3,000 fans filled the stands, with more than half of them taking coach up on his offer. Barnum shared a picture of a receipt from ‘Barny’s Beer Garden’ totaling $14,448 worth of beers — 786 Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPAs and 1,260 Coors Lights.
Barnum dropped approximately 7% of his yearly base salary on beer that he didn’t drink. Barnum even admits that his promise may have been too good of a promotion. Barnum says it reached Penn State coach James Franklin, his brother in Tokyo, and his parents in Minnesota.
According to a public record in the state of Oregon, Barnum is said to make over $205,000 a year, not including bonuses. It seems the promotion was worth it as the Vikings won the game 21-7. Despite this, it’s highly unlikely that he will buying fans beer again during the next home game.
Portland State’s first two games were road losses to FBS programs Hawaii and Washington State, but Barnum’s bunch was not blown out by either team. Barnum is in his sixth year with the team and will forever be a legend for this most recent promotion.
Flip the page to view Barnum’s lofty bill.