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15 for '15: College football's best stadiums
What does it take to have a great stadium for college football? A storied history helps plenty, especially when you mix in a bit of mystique, a great view and plenty of raucous fans. There are tons of quality places to watch a game at the college level, but here are 15 of the best from all over the country.
Camp Randall is an historic venue that has been around for a long time, and is a great spot to catch a football game no matter who the Badgers are playing. The atmosphere in Madison is top-notch on Saturdays between the nearby lakes and awesome tailgating spots along the way. To go with all of that, the "Jump Around" tradition when the stadium moves under your feet is one of the best things to experience at the college level.
One of the loudest places to play in the country, there are few things cooler in college football than seeing 106,000 screaming Nittany Lions fans making life tough on opposing offenses. Game day is normally pretty special, but the famous "White Out" games do crank things up a few notches, too.
Nearly every football fan -- college or pro -- could recognize where the Broncos play their home games thanks to the famous (or infamous if you're talking to an opponent) blue turf that has been a staple of the field for decades. It's been labeled as a gimmick, but few can deny that the place is the personification of the uniqueness of college football.
The Cornhuskers have sold out every game in Lincoln since 1962, and the atmosphere that Big Red provides helps make the historic venue that much more special when it comes time for game day. That the fans are some of the classiest in the sports means that win or lose, this is a great place to watch some football.
Winning hasn't been a big part of Army football the past few years, but on most Saturday afternoons that might not matter all that much given that the Black Knights play their home games in one of the sport's most picturesque venues given how it overlooks the Hudson River. As one of the oldest stadiums in the country (going back to 1924), a visit to West Point should be on every fan's bucket list.
The biggest stadium in the country is always going to be represented on this list, and the maize and blue faithful have kept this as a special place despite it's more "corporate" upgrades in recent years. Jim Harbaugh will surely recognize many of the elements that made Ann Arbor a tough place to play when he was quarterback for the Wolverines, and it likely won't be too long before his teams attack the field with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind in order to give Big Blue fans something to yell about.
Athens is one of the top college towns in the country, and it should be no surprise that it has a gorgeous stadium to match. Whether it's Uga roaming the sidelines or the hedges around the edges, this place is unique and one of the best places you can go to watch a game and the atmosphere is even better when the Bulldogs are beating up on a big opponent.
There are a number of stadiums around the country who carry the same name on the facade, but few can match the atmosphere of a big game day that the appropriately nicknamed "Death Valley" brings. Even fewer places have as awesome a tradition as touching Howard's Rock and running down the hill as the Tigers get to do at every home game.
Wake up the echoes because there are few more historic places to catch a college football game. Whether it's Touchdown Jesus overlooking the stadium or the mesmerizing pageantry that comes with a Fighting Irish home game, a trip to South Bend to soak up Notre Dame Stadium should be on every fan's bucket list. Recent upgrades to the venue have brought the site into the 21st century without getting rid of the charm.
The Aggies are in the final stages of a whopping $485 million renovation that will see Kyle Field turned into one of the most impressive stadiums of any kind in the country. While some of the old stadium's charming features -- like the ground moving when the fans sway to the fight song -- might be lost, there are few places that have a better atmosphere with the always-standing fans and long list of traditions.
The Horseshoe is a nickname that is instantly recognizable to many college football fans and something synonymous with the Buckeyes' long tradition. Easily among the loudest places in the country on a Saturday afternoon, it's hard to top the dotting of the "I" or hearing 100,000 of your closest friends sing "Carmen Ohio."
Don't let the relatively paltry capacity fool you, this is one of the loudest places to watch a football game in the country thanks to its unique design coupled with plenty of screaming Ducks fans. The amenities are top-notch -- as you would expect from a place that's been glitzed up with Phil Knight's money -- and the recent facilities additions nearby make Eugene a game day delight.
You can go up and down the West Coast and find great stadiums, but nobody has the view from Husky Stadium beat. With the place set on a perch overlooking Montlake, one can "sailgate" on the water before a big game or simply stroll around a fantastic campus in a great city to tailgate. A recent $250 million renovation has the place looking better than ever, and kept it as one of the loudest venues in the country.
A night game in Death Valley is an experience like no other thanks to a quality stadium and sea of purple and gold faithful screaming at the top of their lungs. The tailgate scene is unbelievable for just about everybody who hasn't been before, and a night game against a big opponent has been known to cause a legitimate earthquake or two.
We're focused on the venue when it hosts the bowl game of the same name, but it's still very much a great place to watch a football game when UCLA calls the place home (especially lately). As anybody who has been, there's a reason "The Granddaddy of Them All" is held here every New Year's Day and there is no greater sight in all of college football than seeing two great teams battling back and forth while the sun sets on the San Gabriel Mountains in the background.
