Gator die-hards pick Florida Field for final resting place

Gainesville, Florida -- It may not be for everyone, but enough Gator fans have requested that their ashes be spread over Florida Field when they die, that the University of Florida has now set up a policy to handle such requests.

Longtime season ticket holder Bill Barnett of Orlando is one such Gator fan who wants his final resting place to be inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

"Socially, all of my friends are here every weekend and when I die my ashes are going to be scattered right out there," Barnett recently told 10 Connects as he looked out over Florida Field.

The school says it gets about 20 such requests each year and, as a result, officials have set up a policy to handle the calls. University spokesperson Steve Orlando says someone from the athletic department will now go to the stadium and meet with families who want to spread the ashes of a loved one over Florida Field. He says people are not allowed on the field, but they are allowed to spread the ashes from the front row.

"Some people think it's kind of creepy, but if you look at it in terms of just how someone is devoted to the institution and just how much they do love it, you kind of begin to understand that devotion," Orlando said.

Orlando says the school is also moving forward with plans to build a columbarium on campus. Although a few years away, Orlando says the columbarium would provide a more permanent home for Gator fans wanting to be interred on the campus.

10 Connects wants to know - if you're a Gator fan, would you want your ashes spread over Florida Field when you die? Post a comment below.