The University of New Mexico is not allowing guests to attend the 2021 Commencement Ceremony for Lobos this year, according to the university. A UNM spokesperson said 3,500 students are eligible to participate in commencement this spring and are needing to allow capacity for all graduates to sign up. At last count, UNM has over 1,200 students signed up to attend graduation and the university said all COVID-19-safe practices will be followed, meaning students will be seated 6 feet apart and every other row. Here is the full statement provided to KOAT by the University of New Mexico: "We are looking forward to an in-person commencement on Saturday at University Stadium. Planning the largest commencement ceremony in the state during a pandemic drove the decision not to allow guests and was intended to ensure that our students would be able to walk, travel plans would not be upended, and our community would remain safe. We appreciate the support and patience of the friends and family who would like to attend, and can empathize with their frustration. Our Lobo graduates have endured a challenging year and they deserve a memorable celebration as they begin the next chapter of their lives. Planning timeline: Commencement planning for the spring class of 2021 began in early March, at which time the county was in yellow status with a projected plateau of cases continuing. Limiting attendance in an outdoor venue was our best option to ensure an in-person celebration for our graduates. A UNM graduation draws visitors from all over the United States, and indeed from other countries as well. The conditions did not support inviting a large number of guests from outside the state to participate, and we believe this remains true.Logistics: We are only using the west side of University Stadium: The stage, platform participants and faculty members will be on the field The remainder of the stadium would not be conducive to audio and/or visual The event is being livestreamed for those who cannot attend Arrangements with vendors needed to be finalized by early April (stage, audio/video, etc.) It is not viable to make changes at this timeHealthy Community: Looking simply at possible capacity of the stadium does not account for the need to seat guests 6 feet apart, or manage large crowds with distancing We realize that the county just went to Turquoise last week, but we are still complying with the social distancing requirements for large events and it’s not logistically feasible to move or coordinate relocated or expanding such a large event We worked through the NM Higher Education Department in planning commencement, in addition to adhering to public health orders We also do not want to encourage visitors to enter New Mexico from other states or other countries.Other: The NMAA event at the Pit was planned differently under NMAA guidelines, with a different timeline, seating configuration, ticketing and was not inviting people months in advance to make travel arrangements to come to Albuquerque during a time when New Mexico was still encouraging limited travel."