Washington, D.C. —  Recognizing the importance of providing college students with the tools necessary to make safe and responsible decisions regarding beverage alcohol, The Century Council and The Charmer Sunbelt Group, "the distributor of choice" for fine wines and spirits, joined forces to sponsor the 2006 College Smash-Mouth Bass Championship. Thirty-seven colleges and universities from across the nation participated in the championship, which took place in Little Rock, Arkansas and debuted on ESPN 2 and ESPN-U on September 28th.

The Century Council, with the support of The Charmer Sunbelt Group, provided all participants with Alcohol 101 Plus™, an innovative, first-of-its-kind, interactive CD-ROM program aimed at eliminating the misuse of alcohol on college campuses. Additionally, the groups provided a drunk driving awareness public service announcement which aired twice during the broadcast. The College Smash Mouth Bass Championship aired on ESPN2 and ESPN-U, reaching over 90 million homes.

Alcohol 101 Plus™ is an interactive CD-ROM program aimed at helping students make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol on college campuses. Set on a "virtual campus," Alcohol 101 Plus™ combines the core elements of the award-winning Alcohol 101 program, including the "Virtual Bar," with content targeted to at-risk populations — first year students, Greeks, student-athletes, and judicial policy offenders. The realistic scenarios highlight the specific issues, challenges, and decisions these groups face when it comes to alcohol in a college setting and provides students and educators with the opportunity for reflection and discussion. The program includes an interactive alcohol education game developed in partnership with SONY, which teaches the user about how alcohol affects an individual's health, performance, and decision-making.

"Making the responsible sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages in our communities a priority is not just good business," stated Charles Merinoff, Vice Chairman and CEO of The Charmer Sunbelt Group. "Simply put: It's the right thing to do. The Charmer Sunbelt Group takes corporate responsibility seriously — at all levels of our business."

The Charmer Sunbelt Group is one of the nation's leading distributors of fine wines, spirits, beers, bottled water and other non-alcoholic products. The Charmer Sunbelt Group is a group of affiliated, independent companies operating in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and The District of Columbia, and is committed to the legal and responsible sales and consumption of beverage alcohol. The Charmer Sunbelt Group explores opportunities for and encourages its associates, retailers and various other industry associations to play an active role in social responsibility in their respective communities.

The Century Council’s mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol and to discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research, law enforcement, and other programs. Recognizing fifteen years of progress, America's leading distillers, Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, DIAGEO, Future Brands LLC, Hood River Distillers, Pernod Ricard USA, and Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. have promoted The Council's mission by investing over $160 million in its programs to fight drunk driving and underage drinking. For more information about Alcohol 101 Plus™ or The Century Council, or to order a copy of the program free-of-charge, please visit www.alcohol101plus.org or www.centurycouncil.org.