UF's administrators are setting stricter expectations for classroom attendance as the football team plays its second national championship game in two years.
When UF played Ohio State for the BCS National Championship on the first day of classes in January 2007, Bernie Machen asked professors to make it easier for students to make up missed work and even extended the drop/add deadline four days.
This year, with UF playing Oklahoma for the national championship on Thursday, UF is doing neither.
"The thinking may have evolved a bit since Arizona," said UF Provost Joe Glover.
Glover sent a memo to administrators in December that said UF will not cancel classes or otherwise modify its academic schedule because of the game.
"Students should really be here doing their work, it's the first week of classes," he said. "They're here for an education."
He said most students wouldn't be attending the game anyway, and UF doesn't want to encourage students to travel to Miami just to "partake in the ambiance of the game."
"They can enjoy the game on TV between 8 and 11:30 at night and be in class the next day," he said.
Editor's note: this article incorrectly stated that UF is playing Oklahoma State for the national championship. UF is playing Oklahoma.
