This spring undergraduate commencement is moving to Acrisure Stadium to accommodate the number of graduates and their guests. 

On Feb. 10, the University of Pittsburgh announced the 2026 spring commencement ceremony will be held at Acrisure Stadium. Many graduating students and their families are excited about the venue change, though it’s caused some concerns about travel accommodations and the commute to the ceremony.

Acrisure is an outdoor stadium, and commencement will be held “rain or shine.” The stadium can seat 68,400 people, which is a significant increase of seats compared to PPG Paints’ capacity of 14,536 people for end stage events. The venue change allows graduates to invite up to eight guests, compared to last year’s number of four guaranteed guests. 

University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said the commencement ceremony location is reevaluated each year according to class size.

Last spring, commencement was held at PPG Paints Arena to accommodate Pitt’s largest graduating class and their guests. The ceremony was previously held in the Petersen Events Center.

Since 2022, class sizes have increased each year. This fall, there was a 25% increase in first-year students compared to last year. The University is currently on track to meet its 2028 undergraduate enrollment target of 22,000 as part of the Plan for Pitt 2028. 

Although there is not an official number of 2026 graduates yet, the class is expected to be one of the largest ever. The University is upgrading venues again to accommodate as many family members and friends as possible, according to Stonesifer.

Gaby Hollenback, a senior urban studies and environmental studies major, has family from all over the country coming to Pittsburgh for commencement. She is looking forward to graduating in Acrisure Stadium with all of them present.

“I’m excited that it’s in Acrisure because all my family can come in that hasn’t ever gotten to experience Pittsburgh, let alone Acrisure,” Hollenback said. “There’s more tickets available to us.” 

The opportunity to graduate from Acrisure gives Hollenback a “sense of pride” since the stadium is a Pittsburgh landmark.

“It’s a nice location to graduate from because we’ve had our football games there, and the Steelers are a predominant figure in the city, too,” Hollenback said.

Helena Bohmann, a senior human resources management major, was shocked when she heard the announcement. She said she is looking forward to graduating in Acrisure Stadium because of the memories she has already made there.

“I was surprised that they moved it so far from campus, but I was also excited,” Bohmann said. “It’s special because I’m in the marching band, so it has an extra meaning to it.”

Camilla Pharamond, whose daughter is graduating from Pitt this spring, was “so excited” when she learned the commencement was moving to Acrisure.

“We’ve been to football games there,” Pharamond said. “It’s a beautiful stadium. It’s outdoors, which I think is fabulous — hoping for a beautiful day. It also allows more family members and friends to be able to come for the graduates.”

Although many are excited about the venue change, some families had to alter travel and lodging plans after the announcement. Hollenback’s family booked an Airbnb in Polish Hill before the announcement but had to cancel and reserve a new one in the North Shore to make the commute easier.

“I have a grandpa coming from Arizona [and] some aunts coming from Las Vegas, so all over the country. [They’re] coming to stay at a big Airbnb,” Hollenback said. “We actually switched our reservation a couple days ago because of the location. They are planning on Ubering, so it will be closer for them to commute to the commencement at this new Airbnb.”

John Trabulsi, a senior Spanish major, is concerned about the Pittsburgh Marathon, which is also on May 3, disrupting the commute to commencement.

“My family has a hotel closer to downtown,” Trabulsi said. “The fact that [commencement] is on the North [Shore], especially during the marathon day, makes it very hard for anyone to coordinate getting there.”

Although Trabulsi said he thinks commencement being held at Acrisure is “cool,” he wishes the University announced it earlier.

“It’s just annoying,” Trabulsi said. “We had everything figured out — the dates were known, the marathon was known. The only thing that wasn’t known was the location. It would have been more practical had they announced it not halfway through the spring semester when I’m graduating.”

However, the possibility of difficult travel isn’t impacting the enthusiasm of students like Bohmann.

“[I’m looking forward to] the environment of [Acrisure] — being able to see everybody that is there to support us, being able to have a better view of all the other peers that I’ll be walking with,” Bohmann said.