The last time Amon G. Carter Stadium served as a commencement venue, the temperature climbed to 90 degrees by noon. 

That May 2014 ceremony, which consisted of one graduation for all colleges, is remembered for the heat and the person who had pizza delivered.

“It was awful,” said Olivia Caridi, 2014 graduate. “My grandma flew in and could only stay in the stands for an hour because she was frying.”

Many graduates brought their own water bottles to make it through the nearly four hour ceremony, but there was not any food provided.

“It was extremely hot,” said Adam Morón, 2014 graduate. “A lot of people around me were tired and hungry from the heat.”

Due to his and other graduates’ hunger, Morón decided to order a pizza to be delivered during the ceremony.

“When the delivery guy got there he called me to ask where I was, I could see him on the second level deck above the student section looking around for me,” Morón said. “When I finally waved him down and he saw me, he started saying ‘Oh no….no dude I’m not going down there. No way.’ I finally convinced him to meet me at the sideline and ended up giving him $50 for it since he actually came down to the field and met me. I only had one slice because everyone else devoured it.”

Due to construction on the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in 2014, commencement moved to the outdoor setting of the Amon G. Carter Stadium because of the inability to reserve another venue big enough in time for graduation.

TCU also didn’t have another option if inclement weather arose on the day of commencement.

Looking forward to 2021

This year’s commencements will be held in the stadium, but it appears that graduates may be able to avoid having as harsh of conditions as those in 2014.

Unlike the ceremony in 2014, there will be three separate ceremonies over two days. The forecasted highs for Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 are 78 degrees Fahrenheit and 84 degrees Fahrenheit respectively, which are both temperatures that were hit in the early hours of the morning of May 10, 2014.

While this may provide some relief to graduates and their families, alumni still advise to proceed with outdoor commencement with caution. The best way to beat the heat according to 2014 graduates is by bringing plenty of water, wearing light clothing and bringing an umbrella, if possible.

For more details on commencement, refer to the commencement website.