We are pleased to offer special parking and seating for guests with reduced mobility, limited stamina, sign language needs, medical concerns, or using a wheelchair, walker, or scooter. Please check back in January for information related to Accessibility Planning for Commencement Weekend 2025.
For safety reasons, campus roads near the stadium are closed for Commencement Ceremonies on Saturday (except for campus buses), so drivers cannot drive up to stadium entrances expecting to drop off passengers. However, Accessibility Plans, explained below, provide guests with special arrangements needed for parking and seating.
Yellow Plan – Hoy Parking Garage
The Yellow Plan is for guests with ANY of the following, not just for those who have wheelchairs:
- Cannot climb 10-15 stairs, or any stairs
- Needs a chair with back support
- Bringing wheelchair, walker, scooter, crutches, cane
- Unable to step on/off a bus
- Unsteady on feet, needs assistance
- Has vertigo or height fears
- Needs ASL sign language interpreting
We urge guests with limited stamina or reduced mobility to bring a wheelchair to campus. Guests who don’t usually rely on a wheelchair, and may not even need one inside the stadium, may find they need one at some point during the long weekend on our large, hilly campus. Wheelchairs provide relief for strenuous walking distances from sidewalks to buildings and provide restful seating at informal events. Anyone bringing a wheelchair to the stadium event, will need a Yellow Plan.
All members of your party may sit together in this section, at the south end of the field at the stadium.
Blue Plan – South Morrison Parking Lot
The Blue Plan is for guests who are able to do ALL of the following:
- Able to climb 10-30 stairs in the bleacher area
- Able to step on/off a bus
- Able to sit without back support
- Able to walk 100 feet unassisted
- Not bringing wheelchair, walker, scooter
- Does not have vertigo or height fears
- Does not need ASL sign language interpreting
All members of your party may sit together anywhere in the bleachers, in the Crescent general seating.
In addition:
- Each ceremony will be captioned on the large Jumbotron located at the south end of the field, as well as on two large video screens located on either side of the stage.
- Guests watching the event via livestream will have access to closed captioning.
Yellow Plan
Guests with a Yellow Plan will receive a yellow permit document to print to be able to park in Hoy Parking Garage on Saturday. State issued handicap placards are not required, as Hoy Parking Garage is reserved for all vehicles displaying a Yellow Plan permit. Driving directions to Hoy Parking Garage are included with the Yellow parking permit. Traffic signs and transportation officers will assist with directing vehicles to Hoy Parking Garage. You will exit your vehicle at the unloading area in Hoy Parking Garage. Then walk/wheel 100′ on level surfaces, to the Yellow seating area at the south end of the football field in the stadium. Chairs will be available for all in this special seating section on the field. All members of your party may sit together in this seating area.
Blue Plan
Guests with a Blue Plan will receive a blue permit document to print to be able to park in the South Morrison Parking Lot on Saturday. State issued handicap placards are not required, as the South Morrison Parking Lot is reserved for all vehicles displaying a Blue Plan permit. Driving directions to the South Morrison Parking Lot are included with Blue Plan information. Traffic signs and transportation officers will assist with directing vehicles to the South Morrison Parking Lot. You will ride a bus from the South Morrison Parking Lot to the Crescent Lot and walk 100′ to general seating in the Crescent.
Yellow Plan
Guests wanting sign language service need a Yellow Plan for the specific parking-and-seating arrangement that provides the entry and seating location where signers will be located.
Blue Plan
Guests sitting in the Crescent general seating will not be able to see the signers. To sit where signers are located, you will need the Yellow Plan.
We recommend renting wheelchairs or transport chairs at home to bring to campus. The university does not provide wheelchairs, as supply cannot meet the large demand. If you rent from companies in Ithaca, be sure to ask about pickup & return dates, as some businesses may be closed until Tuesday to observe Memorial Day.
607-273-4727 Guthrie Med Supply Depot
607-272-2433 Finger Lakes Independence Center
607-257-1425 UHS Professional Homecare
Yellow Plan
If bringing a wheelchair, walker, scooter, or transport chair to Schoellkopf Field, you MUST have a Yellow Plan to accommodate a mobility device at Schoellkopf.
Blue Plan
The Blue Plan does not allow for bringing wheelchairs, walkers, or scooters to the stadium. Whether you will use a wheelchair for seating or just want to set it aside at Schoellkopf to use later, you MUST have the Yellow Plan.
Yellow Plan
With the Yellow Plan, display your permit and walk/wheel or drive to your graduate’s college/school or department event. You’ll need to allow time to then travel back to park in Hoy Parking Garage prior to the university Commencement ceremony.
If attending a college/school or department event prior to the university Commencement ceremony, you will find that some event locations cannot be accessed by vehicle for drop-offs and pick-ups.
A suggestion for those with a Yellow Plan would be to park in Hoy parking Garage, retrieve a wheelchair or transport chair from vehicle and use it as a safe, comfortable shuttle to walk/wheel to the event, leaving the car in Hoy Parking Garage until later.
Blue Plan
With the Blue Plan, you may walk or ride a bus to your college/school or department event AND to the university Commencement ceremony. To ride a bus to an event following the university Commencement ceremony, exit the Crescent seating area through the portal nearest your seating, then walk 100′ out into the Crescent Lot to board a bus to go to your next event. If you do not have another event to go to, you may ride a bus back to the South Morrison Parking Lot to access your vehicle.