In a nod toward the environment, CU will begin offering “lightweight aluminum” cups to fans during the 2019 football season at Folsom Field.

CU’s athletic department, which debuted a first-of-its-kind Division I sustainability program in 2008, will be the first in the nation to offer such cups to fans at a collegiate venue, according to a CU-Boulder news release.

The cups were designed in partnership with Ball Corporation, and will be available for the first time when the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ visit Saturday for the Buffs’ home opener.

“With CU’s commitment to sustainability, the university is the ideal partner for piloting our new aluminum cup at the collegiate level,” John A. Hayes, Ball’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in the news release.

“Sports fans are becoming more mindful about the impact their everyday choices have on the environment, and we’re excited to offer them the opportunity to enjoy their favorite beverage at the game in our infinitely recyclable aluminum cup.”

According to the release, Ball will produce a limited supply of aluminum cups through 2020 for venues seeking to replace plastic cups.

For the 2019 season, beer will be sold exclusively in the aluminum cups, CU-Boulder spokesman Ryan Huff said, with soda and wine still coming in plastic cups. The university’s goal is to be entirely plastic-free in its sports venues by 2020.

The aluminum cups will also be made available at volleyball and basketball games inside the CU Events Center, Huff said.

“As an athletic department and university, we are proud of all we have done thus far and will continue to do in reducing our carbon footprint,” CU athletic director Rick George said in the release. “Being conscious of the environment is not only the right thing to do, it sets an example for our fans and everyone else watching that they should make sustainable choices, too.”

CU became the first major college sports program to implement a zero waste program in all gameday venues when it introduced Ralphie’s Green Stampede in 2008, the release stated.

For more information about the aluminum cups, visit ball.com/cups. For more information about CU athletics’ sustainability program, visit colorado.edu/sustainability.