Starting this football season, the University of Florida will be the first college to use a facial authentication program to allow fans to enter home games faster.
Express Entry, powered by Wicket, will allow fans to bypass lines by using their face instead of their ticket or phone. With free enrollment, fans can download a photo of themselves. Once registered, Express Entry will only be valid for UF home football tickets on the fan’s account, meaning guests can enter with the account holder at designated Express Entry lanes without registering themselves.
“We’re always looking for innovative ways to improve the game-day experience,” said Scott Stricklin, athletic director of the University of Florida Athletic Association (UAA), in a press release. “With Express Entry, we’re giving fans a faster, streamlined way to get into the stadium so they can spend less time in line and more time cheering on the Gators.”
The dedicated Express Entry lanes will be at Gates 1, 4, 7, 8, 12 and 16 for home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and other select UF Athletics venues. Fans who have linked their accounts and completed registration will simply enter a designated Express Entry lane, scan their face, and head straight inside – no wait, no hassle.
Express Entry is a voluntary, opt-in program for fans 18 and older with a valid Ticketmaster account. All data creation, storage, and processing is handled securely by Wicket, which encrypts information, stores it safely, and never shares or sells user data to third parties. The UAAA does not create, store, process or transmit any biometric data.
“We are excited to see the University of Florida streamlining ticketing with Wicket facial authentication,” said Alastair Partington, CEO of Wicket, in the press release. “This is a perfect fit for facial ticketing, allowing students and ardent Gator supporters to get into The Swamp faster and more easily to cheer on their Gators.”
How to Enroll in Express Entry
1. Visit FloridaGators.com/ExpressEntry.
2. Link your Ticketmaster account.
3. Snap a selfie.
You’ll be ready to use Express Entry at every ticketed UF Athletics event moving forward.
Single-game tickets for all six Gators football home games are on sale now at FloridaGators.com/Tickets. For information about all Gator ticketed events, go to FloridaGators.com.
For more information and to enroll in Express Entry, visit FloridaGators.com/ExpressEntry. For information on Wicket, visit WicketSoft.com.