Students have been waiting to find out if and how they’ll watch the Gators play at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium this fall during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, that wait is over.
The Gators announced they’d be using a lottery system to determine who will get student tickets, beginning on Sept. 21.
Students will take up 2,000 of the 17,000 allotted seats in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at every home game this year, per the University Athletic Association. Up to 10,000 students could attend a Gators game live; however, students who’ve won the lottery will be removed from it for subsequent home games. This way, as many different students will be able to attend games on campus as possible. UF sold 16,500 student tickets last season.
Priority in the lottery will be based on academic standing and whether students have previously been season ticket holders. Seniors will receive four entries, juniors three, sophomores two and freshmen one. Graduate and professional students will receive two entries as well. For every year a student-owned season tickets in the past, they receive an additional entry. For example, if a senior had season tickets all three years they’d been at UF, they would receive seven entries.
Students can log in to the lottery portal and select the games they wish to attend. The lottery will close at midnight on Sunday of game week, and winners will receive an email the Monday night of each home game, according to the UAA. Students have 48 hours to claim their tickets, which will cost $25. Any tickets that go unclaimed within this two-day period will go on sale Thursday at 6 p.m. These tickets will be available to purchase on a first-come, first-serve basis for students that entered that game’s lottery but were not selected, according to the UAA.
No guest tickets will be available this year, but winning students will receive two tickets — one for themselves and an additional student. This additional student may be someone who won the lottery for a previous game. Both students must present a valid UF ID to enter the stadium. Students will also be expected to follow “physically gameday protocol,” meaning that they must wear a mask and social distance.
The first 12,000 students to enter the lottery will win a free Gators football t-shirt from Pepsi, an official brand of the University of Florida.
Florida-Georgia student ticket information will be announced later, according to the UAA.
Contact Payton Titus at ptitus@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @petitus25.
Tight end Kyle Pitts in front of a packed home crowd against Tennessee last season. With limited seats available for fans this season, students will be allotted 2,000 seats at every home game.
Payton is a sophomore journalism major from Jacksonville, Florida. She is The Alligator's Spring 2021 digital managing editor. Her previous roles include softball beat writer, football beat writer and online sports editor.
