​A group of doctors and scientists has petitioned the Big 12 Conference and the the NCAA to pause the Big 12’s big new sponsorship rollout with Monster Energy on the basis that energy drinks are a health risk to children.The group has sent letters to the leadership of the Big 12 and NCAA but said it hasn’t received a response.The Big 12 announced a new “entitlement” partnership with Monster Energy in July, which is set to include the energy drink company’s logo next to the Big 12’s logo on player jerseys, football fields and basketball courts. Several other schools and college players previously have done separate sponsorship deals with energy drink companies, including Celsius and Red Bull.But the scope of the Big 12 deal with Monster Energy is one reason the group says it is singling out the Big 12.“The reason for focusing on the Big 12 is primarily the scale and demographics of its audience,” said John Higgins, a sports cardiologist with the Houston Rockets and Rice Athletics who is part of the group. “Big 12 games can reach roughly 10–18 million viewers per weekend, with particularly strong exposure among younger fans. That makes the conference an especially important environment to examine when considering the marketing and consumption of energy drinks among young people.”Higgins notes the group’s focus is not to criticize or target a particular brand or to restrict what adults can consume. It is instead focused on the marketing and promotion of these products to children and adolescents, who are more vulnerable to the effects of these highly caffeinated beverages. The group’s letters to the Big 12 and NCAA cite the deaths of three teenagers with cardiac events linked to energy-drink consumption.Based on similar health risks for children, several governments outside the U.S. also outlaw the sale of such products to those under 18 or 16, including in Norway, the United Kingdom (in 2027) and Quebec, Canada. The U.S. has no such age restriction. The NCAA also prohibits schools from directly providing energy drinks to athletes because caffeine is a banned NCAA stimulant that could trigger a positive drug test if consumed in high-enough quantities.In a recent letter sent to the Big 12’s board of directors chairman Doug Girod, the group asked whether an institution followed by millions of children should lend the credibility of college athletics to “the youth-visible promotion of a stimulant.”Doctors and scientists made three requests to Big 12The group made three requests in the letter to Girod, who is the chancellor at Kansas. The letter was shared with USA TODAY Sports.It asked to pause the youth-facing activation of the sponsorship, including branding on player uniforms, fields, courts, student sections, and conference-controlled media likely to reach minors.It wants to commission an independent health review, including pediatrics and cardiovascular medicine.It also asked to bring the matter to the Big 12 board b