UF commencements to be held in stadium for first time since the '70s

April 29, 2015

For the first time in more than 40 years, students and their families will gather this week in the University of Florida football stadium to celebrate the successful completion of their studies.

More than 5,700 students are expected to participate in commencement ceremonies Thursday through Sunday in Ben Hill Griffin stadium. Each is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Thursday’s event will be the doctoral ceremony, with 262 students expected to participate. Ceremonies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be for bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients, with nearly 2,000 students expected Friday, more than 1,600 Saturday and more than 1,800 Sunday.

An additional 2,023 students will participate in other ceremonies in other locations. All told, 8,350 students will receive their degrees this spring.

Most commencements were moved to the stadium this spring because of construction and renovation work at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, where commencements have been held since it opened in 1980. Commencement is expected to return to the O’Connell

Center for summer and fall 2015. However, it will be held in the stadium again in spring 2016 before returning once again to the O’Connell Center in fall 2016.

For more commencement information, go to http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement/