Quinnipiac University partnered with Stony Creek Brewery to create a new Bobcat Golden Lager, a Quinnipiac-branded beer that’s sales will fuel a student entrepreneurship fund designed to help the university’s students launch their own businesses.
Michael Kassa, Quinnipiac’s associate vice president for corporate partnerships, said the partnership stemmed from the university’s aspiration to create partnerships that provide and create impact and opportunity for students and community, including alumni and friends of the university.
“We wanted to create a product that the alumni can enjoy, that can also allow them to give back to the university in a nontraditional way, above and beyond the traditional ‘Hey, let’s ask you for 25 dollars every other month,’” Kassa said.
A portion of the lager’s sales will go into the School of Business’ newly established Student Entrepreneurship Fund. Mostafa Analoui, the recently appointed Carlton Highsmith Endowed Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac, will administer the fund.
It is unknown how much the lager will cost and what portion of the cost will go towards the fund, but Kassa noted it will be in regulation with Stony Creek Brewery’s previous partnerships.
The fund, which will be accessible to every student at Quinnipiac, is set to go live in the fall of 2024, once the brewery begins returning to Quinnipiac the portion of the beer’s sales intended for the fund. .
Students will have to submit an application to be able to receive seed funding for their businesses. Kassa said he anticipates substantial growth in the fund prior to its full launch and noted he hopes it will be able to support multiple students right away.
Stony Creek Brewery executives will also be offering internships, employment opportunities and guest lectures to Quinnipiac students throughout the year as part of the partnership.
The Bobcat Golden Lager — with a purposely lowered 4.2% alcoholic content — is set to premiere on the Mount Carmel Campus during Bobcat Weekend’s Oct. 6 kickoff. Sporting the head of Boomer the Bobcat on the can, the lager will continue to be available after this weekend for anyone age 21 years and above in the On the Rocks pub and the Bobcat Den.
Quinnipiac officials hope that by November this product will be available from Boston to New York, where the majority of Quinnipiac alumni reside.
However, Kassa said that “outside of campus availability, (Quinnipiac) is not involved in any marketing promotion of the product or getting it into specific restaurants and bars, as that is Stony Creek’s area.”
For the underage student population — along with non-drinkers — the possibility of having an alcohol-free version anytime soon has not been “fully vetted,” although Kassa said this possibility was discussed, and evidently tabled, early in the partnership.
