The future of UF campus tailgating is still unclear after early-season controversy

For generations of Gator football fans, game day is about more than the action inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It’s typically an all-day event, grounded in long-standing tailgating traditions that have come to symbolize the spirit of the University of Florida.

But with the 2024 season now complete, the future of some of those traditions remains in question.

At the center, lies the biggest uncertainty: what will be the future of on-campus tailgating on grass areas throughout the center of campus?

“It is too early for us to comment on next season,” Amy Armstrong, UF’s Director of Communications for the Office of the Vice President for Business Affairs, said in an email. “In the coming months, we will have many conversations with our partners in UAA and others to ensure that all of our fans have a wonderful game-day experience on our campus.”

The first signs of potential changes came on Sept. 7, before Florida’s second home game of the season. As early tailgaters arrived to campus on the morning of the Gators’ game against Samford, they were met with an unexpected sight: barricades blocking prime spots on and around campus, including grassy areas parallel to Museum Road and other traditional spots.

What began as a minor inconvenience has since escalated into frustration and confusion, leaving fans questioning whether they signal a potential permanent shift in UF’s game-day parking policies.

The barriers didn't just change the flow of the game-day experience; for many fans, they felt like an unwelcome message. For Gators loyalists who have been attending games for decades, tailgating isn’t merely a casual pre-game event–it’s a ritual that holds deep personal and cultural significance.

“I’ve been tailgating in this same spot for 21 years. It's been organized into what we call ‘Harmonic Woods,’” said Robert Martin, also known as "The Mayor of Gators Tailgating."

Martin has been a fixture on Museum Road, where he and a rotating group of friends, family, and fellow fans have gathered for every home game for years in the same spot. For years, the Harmonic Woods tailgate has been a place where Gator fans come together – the tailgate draws more than 100 fans each game. One of the highlights is their unique version of AC/DC’s "Thunderstruck," where fans gather in a circle around a big drum and celebrate with their favorite adult beverages, adding energy and excitement to the pregame festivities.

With a strong sense of community, Harmonic Woods welcomes everyone, from students to alumni, and has gained recognition on Gators radio and social media. The tailgate also features a variety of competitive games and the wheel of opportunity, a wheel that gives fans the opportunity to win prizes, creating a lively atmosphere that captures the heart of college football tailgating.

Before the Samford game, he arrived to find his usual spot cordoned off, and for the first time in recent memory, he thought he may have had to seek out a new location.

“This was Ground Zero,” Martin says, describing his experience arriving at Florida’s second home game of the season. “We were the first tailgate here at 6 a.m. and it was roped off.”

Initially, Martin said he thought there are many factors that could explain this. Martin first believed that it could have been related to issues with overnight parking, given that fans are not allowed to set up for tailgating until 6 a.m. on game day.

“When we pulled up, we thought, ‘Man, they’re really not letting anyone leave their stuff here overnight,’ so we went ahead and set up,” Martin said.

Martin says his group was then approached by William McDonald, the Senior Director of Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) at the University of Florida, and asked to leave.

“Not many people get here at 6 a.m. for a night game, but we do to make sure we get our spot.” Martin said.

Martin and his son took to their Twitter page, which has a big following, to share the news along with a picture of their roped-off spot.

“[The post] got about 250,000 views,” Martin said,

The outcry from Martin and others in similar situations must have had an effect, as law enforcement came down and ripped off all of the barrier tape around 8 a.m. along Museum Road.

Martin said he was never given a clear explanation as to what led to the initial miscommunication, which was reversed a mere hours later.

“I don’t know what decision was made for them to do this,” he said. “I mean, McDonald told me, ‘You can tailgate on the other side of Lake Alice.’

“It’s already a good hike. We are a mile away from the stadium, you know.”

The university released a statement three days later attempting to explain the confusion.

“There was a miscommunication on game day that caused parking issues for some of you, and this has been resolved by campus,” a UF statement read. “As in the past, all parking that has traditionally been available for tailgating will remain available for … the remainder of the season.”

That statement, especially the wording "for the remainder of the season," did little to quell fans’ longer-term concerns.

A week later, before the Texas A&M game, Martin said the police chief approached him and assured him that the issue had been resolved.

“This isn’t going to happen again,” the officer said, according to Martin.

Indeed, there were no incidents for the remainder of the home schedule, which concluded Nov. 18 against Ole Miss. The Florida football season will end Friday in the Gasparilla Bowl against Tulane at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The Harmonic Woods TailGators plan to be in Tampa for the bowl game. Still, the end of the season hasn’t eased the frustration of fans, who are still questioning whether these initial closures were simply a trial run for more permanent changes in the future.

From Martin’s perspective, it feels like the university is chipping away at the tailgating traditions that have been a cornerstone of the Gators’ game-day experience.

For some fans, the incident sparked speculation about the university’s motives. Some suspect that safety concerns may have been a factor, while others wonder if the university is aiming to limit the amount of trash being left behind.

A number of fans have speculated that UF is exploring ways to commercialize their existing on-campus grass spaces — an idea that has raised alarms among those who worry that their game-day traditions could be sacrificed for profit. The UAA already charges fans to park in on-campus lots or parking garages, but not the open grass areas.

Others say they would happily take their money used on season tickets and spend it elsewhere if parking and tailgating remain an issue.

"There are probably $70,000 worth of season tickets [at this tailgate], and I’ll stay in Orlando and not come up here if [changing the tailgating policy] is what they want to do,” said Jeff Blocker, another longtime Gators fan. “I really enjoy the games, but I enjoy the day of it. For what I spend a year on two tickets in the Champions Club, I can buy a heck of an entertainment system.”

The lack of clear communication has only added to the fans' anger.

“I know that game day parking was a hot topic, and any adjustments throughout the season will create conversations,” McDonald said via email.

McDonald clarified TAPS has a limited role in the issue, stating, “TAPS only handles a small portion of game day parking, with UAA managing all booster parking.”

In 1990, when Martin says he first started tailgating, the school allowed fans to park on Gale Lemerand Drive (then known as North-South Drive), down where the band now practices.

“They used to let us park there, and we had a whole group, pretty grass, and they left bathrooms for us,” Martin said. “Now, we don’t have any bathrooms here. We even begged the university, offering to pay for [portable toilets] ourselves. There’s nothing down here, and I’ve sent emails and did the survey. I put [comments on the surveys] every single week, I’m like, we would pay for them.”

Initially, Martin said, university officials were more welcoming to tailgaters, providing amenities to enhance their game-day experiences. Over time, however, those accommodations have steadily declined, he says.

Despite these challenges, Martin takes immense pride in hosting his tailgate parties, which he ensures reflect respect for the university and its campus. “We clean up our area as we go,” Martin said.

Though these areas, mainly Museum Road, remained open through the duration of the 2024 season, as promised, the Gators’ most ardent fans are still waiting for clarity from the university. As the season progressed, questions continued to mount about the future.

What is the future of on-campus tailgating? Was the initial ‘miscommunication’ indicative of a long-term policy change? And most pressing: what is the university’s commitment to preserving the traditions that make game day at The Swamp so unique?

Multiple officials from various university departments continue to insist no decisions about what will happen in 2025 have been made. UAA spokesperson Steve McClain said he was not aware of any discussions or potential plans for UAA to take over on-campus grass parking areas next season.

“Any changes that are made about game day parking would be in coordination with Transportation Services and the University Police Department,” McClain explained. “It’s clear that nothing has been determined and the parties will continue to work in the future.”

Many are calling on UF to prioritize transparency and engage with the fan base, arguing that open dialogue is the only way to ensure that game-day traditions can coexist with the university’s evolving needs.

For the Gator faithful, the issue is about more than finding a spot to park or set up a tent—it’s about preserving the community and culture that make game days at UF an experience unlike any other.

"I'm all about solving problems—if there is a problem, let's solve it,” Blocker said. “But there wasn’t a problem, and they're trying to solve it, so all it's doing is creating frustration."

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