In 2020, attendance has been limited at sporting events everywhere. The SEC has allowed teams to follow local and state guidelines when setting attendance policies. Most SEC venues have been limited to 20-25 percent of their capacity.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has lifted all attendance restrictions for events in the state. Gators head coach Dan Mullen pointed to that on Saturday, openly campaigning for UF administrators to allow for a packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for next Saturday when defending national champion LSU comes to town.

When discussing crowd noise at Kyle Field, Mullen said, “hopefully the university administration follows the Governor’s ruling…to let us pack The Swamp and give us the home-field advantage that Texas A&M had today,” per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.

Mullen reiterated his plea.

“Absolutely I want to see 90,000 in The Swamp next week…The entire student section, it must have been 50,000 going crazy behind our bench today,” Florida’s head coach said, according to Graham Hall of the Gainesville Sun.

The news of potentially packed stadiums in Florida made the rounds this week after a reporter in Miami noted the Dolphins had the green light to lift attendance for their next game. The Dolphins opted to not adjust attendance at Hard Rock Stadium.

When asked for comment, UF told GatorBait’s Kassidy Hill, “We will continue to follow the guidance provided by our experts at UF Health as well as campus officials.”

It’s worth noting the Gators did not sell all tickets available for the home-opener against South Carolina at reduced capacity. When LSU comes to Gainesville, it is typically one of the most sought-after Florida tickets, though the Tigers are now 1-2 on the year.

We’ll see if Mullen’s open campaigning leads to a new policy for The Swamp.