The
University of Florida’s 2012 Orange & Blue Debut, presented by Sunniland,
will kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. at Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Due to renovations of the west concourse
in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the entire west side of the stadium will be closed
on game day. The following gates will be open for entry into the stadium: 7, 8,
12, 15, 16, 17 and 18. The upper north and south seating areas will be closed.
Gates will open at 11:30 a.m.
In
addition to the annual Orange & Blue Debut, there will be plenty of other
Gator teams in action over the weekend. The baseball team hosts a three-game
series against LSU (Thursday-Saturday), softball hosts Ole Miss (Friday-Sunday),
women’s tennis hosts Arkansas (Friday) and LSU (Sunday) and the annual Florida
Relays will be held at Percy Beard Track (Friday-Saturday).
This
year’s debut will consist of four 12-minute quarters with a running clock. The
clock will stop during the two-minute drill at the end of each half. The
first-team offense will represent the Blue team, while the second-team offense
will score for the Orange team.
The first-team offense will square off against the first-team
defense, while the second-team offense will face the second-team defense.
Regardless of Orange or Blue team designations, the offense will wear blue
jerseys and the defense will wear orange.
Please note that all game
format guidelines are subject to change.
Guest Media Coaches
Continuing a tradition started
at the 2011 Orange & Blue Debut, there will be special guest coaches from
select media outlets. Guest coaches for this year’s game are: Brady Ackerman of
Sun Sports, Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com, Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun and
Andy Staples of SI.com.
2012 ORANGE & BLUE DEBUT EVENT INFORMATION
Gates/Seating
Due to renovations of the west
concourse in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the entire west side of the stadium will
be closed on game day. The following gates will be open for entry into the
stadium: 7 & 8 in the North End Zone, 12 & 15 on the East side, and
Gates 16, 17 & 18 in the South End Zone. All seats are general
admission. The upper north and south seating areas will be closed. Gates will
open at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets
On game day, fans can purchase
tickets at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium from ticket booths on the West side of the
stadium near Gates 1 and 3 and also from Gate 13. The O’Connell Center ticket
booth at Gate 1 will also be open. All ticket windows will open at 9:00 a.m.
Tickets are $5 each.
Fans are strongly encouraged to
purchase tickets in advance of game day to avoid long lines at the ticket
window. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Gator
Ticket Office located in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during business hours,
online through Gatorzone.com or by phone (1-800-34-GATOR).
There are a limited number of
FREE tickets available at Florida Farm Bureau locations. Admission
is also free with valid ID cards for UF Students, Gator Boosters, Alumni
Association members and F Club members.
Great Gator Yard Sale
The Gator SportShop’s annual
Great Gator Yard Sale begins at 8:00 a.m. outside of the Gator SportShop by
Gate 9.
Verizon Gator FanFest
The FanFest will begin at 10:00
a.m. on Saturday in the north grass of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The event will
have games, giveaways, live interviews and more.
Gator Walk
The football team will hold
Gator Walk at 10:30 a.m. on the north side of the stadium as they do for normal
home games during the regular season.
Broadcast Information
Live television coverage on Sun
Sports; Live online video via FoxSportsFlorida.com
(subject to blackout in Florida); Gator IMG Sports Network airing on WRUF-AM
850 and WRUF-FM 103.7 locally, simulcast on Cox channel 946 in
Gainesville/Ocala; GatorZone.com; Sirius Radio channel 91 and XM Radio channel
91. TV re-air on Sun Sports at 11:00pm on 4/7 and 8:30am on 4/8. On-demand
video available on GatorVision Online
beginning 4/8 (subscription required).
Parking
·
O’Connell Center surface lot – Reserved
·
O’Connell Center garage – first-come, first-serve – use entrance
on SW 2nd Ave.
·
Disabled Parking – first-come, first-serve in the O’Connell
Center surface lot
·
Lemerand Dr. between University Ave. and Stadium Rd. will be
closed beginning at 8:00 a.m.
·
Post-game traffic on Lemerand Dr. will be southbound ONLY
·
Shuttles will be running from the Commuter Lot on Lemerand Dr.
starting at 9:00 a.m. They will drop off at the corner of Stadium Rd. and
Lemerand Dr. Shuttles will continue to run through the end of the baseball game
and Florida Relays.
·
Please see the map for shuttle route and more information.
