Alcohol sales at Texas athletics events to begin Friday

Starting on Friday, beer and wine will be available at select Texas Longhorns athletics events during the spring, beginning with the Texas Invitational hosted by the softball team, and also including baseball, men's and women's basketball, and the Texas Relays.

Contrary to some previous reports, beer and wine will not be available at the annual Orange-White game on April 19 that concludes spring practice for football.

The official announcement comes days after rumors circulated that the women's basketball game on Tuesday would mark the start of a trial period during the spring to prepare for the possibility of serving alcohol at football games in the fall.

"This trial will be in effect this spring for all remaining men's and women's basketball, softball and baseball games, and the fan fest area at the Texas Relays," said UT Men's Athletics Director Steve Patterson in a release. "We could look into expanding it for other sports events next fall provided the outcome of the trial is positive."

The release also had this to say:

At the conclusion of the 2014 spring sports seasons, UT Athletics, UT Police, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and UT Athletics concessionaire Sodexho Sports and Leisure will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the trial to determine if alcohol should be sold at other sporting events. The evaluation will include information from UTPD and the TABC to ensure there has been no adverse community impact.

The sales didn't begin Tuesday and beer and wine were also not available at the men's basketball game against Baylor on Wednesday.

According to Orangebloods, the delay was because outgoing Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa "wanted to know what criteria needed to be met for the sales to be considered a success; if more security at athletic events would be needed; and how the sales at each event would be handled."

It seems that Cigarroa received the needed assurances, which probably explains the evaluation that will happen following the spring season.

So if you want to drink at football games, Texas fans, better behave yourselves during events this spring.