Energy drink Xyience recently announced it would sponsor an exclusive interview with CFP Chair Kirby Hocutt, but the deal "was dropped" over concerns of how such a drink "squared with NCAA rules," according to Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY. Xyience recently "launched an ambitious campaign in college sports media, including commercials on the Pac-12 Networks, the Big Ten Network and ESPN." But a news release promoting the campaign "was erased from PR Newswire." Pac-12 Networks also said that it would "no longer run commercials for the product which could cause a failed NCAA drug test if consumed in large quantities." Advertising for energy drinks "can cause drink companies and broadcasters to bump up against NCAA standards designed to promote a culture of good health." Xyience's line of fruit-flavored drinks "contains ingredients that are considered impermissible or banned by the NCAA, even though they're not illegal or unusual among dietary supplements." Though no rules "were violated with the marketing campaign, the governing body's advertising guidelines also say that most or stimulant drinks are not permitted to be associated with NCAA events such as the Final Four but not including regular-season football or most bowl games." ESPN's Sam Ponder "was hired" as a spokesperson for Xyience last year and appeared in commercials. The company "aired ads more than 230 times this year through Sept. 12 on the Pac-12 Networks, Big Ten Network, ESPN and ABC." Nearly two-thirds of those ads "aired on the Pac-12 Networks" (USA TODAY, 9/21).
