For the first time, people can submit themes for UF’s Homecoming Week and Gator Growl.
The theme contest for this year’s production, called “You Choose,” opened on Monday and ends at midnight on April 2.
The 92nd Homecoming and Gator Growl aims to bring the pep rally back to the students and alumni with this contest, said Santiago Ramirez, associate producer of communications for Homecoming and Gator Growl.
To submit a theme, the organization linked a Google form on its Facebook page and Twitter account, Ramirez said. The winner will receive a free ticket to the show this Fall.
In the first 24 hours of the contest opening, Ramirez said it received more than 30 responses.
“We want to make sure the students feel like they’re being more involved with the decisions,” the 21-year-old political science junior said.
The move to Flavet Field last year from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium came from several years of mixed feedback from students and alumni who felt out of touch with Growl, Ramirez said.
Maria Valencia, a senior journalism student at UF, attended Gator Growl her freshman and senior years.
“I feel like if they keep it in Flavet, more people will go,” Valencia, 22, said.
She said she liked the move to Flavet in comparison to the stadium because she felt closer to the action of the show.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 3/26/2015 under the headline “Gator Growl looking for theme ideas”]
Ludacris performs during Gator Growl on Flavet Field on Friday night. This was the first year the event wasn’t held in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
