The Top 25 college stadiums: SEC, Big Ten dominate the top of our list
The Swamp. The Big House. The Granddaddy of Them All.
Whether you’re a fan of Death Valley (the orange-and-white version or the purple-and-gold), Touchdown Jesus or just playing between the hedges, you understand the unique experience college football’s stadiums provide.
So we asked 14 of our college football writers to rank the best stadiums in the sport. No parameters, no criteria. Writers were asked to submit their top 20 stadiums in order. We then awarded points: 20 for first-place votes, 19 for second and all the way down to 1 point for a stadium voted No. 20.
In all, 42 stadiums received at least one vote, allowing us to build a Top 25 (this is college football, after all) for fans to form a travel bucket list or just venues to try out in EA Sports College Football 25.
And certainly a list to debate (this is college football, after all).
So with apologies (and a nod) to the Kibbie Dome on the campus of the University of Idaho at No. 26, here is ESPN’s Top 25 list of stadiums in college football.
1. Tiger Stadium, LSU Tigers, est. 1924
Points: 247 (maximum possible is 280)
Soaking up the atmosphere on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium is pure nirvana for football fans, and it’s hardly just the football game. The food at all the tailgating spots is divine, and we’re talking about dishes from gumbo to shrimp boils to jambalaya being stirred in giant pots by fans hydrating with cold beverages and sporting their purple-and-gold attire (and, yes, beads too).
Mike the Tiger, LSU’s live mascot, roams around in his spacious zoolike enclosure just north of the stadium. He used to hang out on the field in his cage on wheels just outside the opponents’ locker room, but he no longer leaves his habitat to go inside the stadium for games. Having opened in 1924 and now with a capacity of 102,321, Tiger Stadium has been listed as one of “America’s Most Treasured Stadiums” by the Historic Stadium Caucus. And when the Golden Band From Tigerland hits those first four notes upon stepping onto the field for pregame festivities, there’s nothing else quite like it. — Chris Low
2. Rose Bowl, UCLA Bruins, est. 1922
Points: 209
Broadcaster Keith Jackson used to marvel (repeat it in his legendary voice) about the majestic San Gabriel Mountains hovering in the distance at the Rose Bowl. Good luck finding a more picturesque backdrop for any football stadium on the planet, especially at sunset. Sure, the stadium is old and in need of repairs, but there’s a reason it was established as a National Historic Landmark.
The Rose Bowl Game is held there every year. The stadium also has hosted five Super Bowls, an Olympic gold medal match in soccer and multiple World Cup finals. Although UCLA doesn’t draw big crowds for home games, the blend of history, pageantry and scenery surrounding the iconic 92,542-seat stadium in Pasadena, California, makes it a must-visit for any college football fan. — Low
Points: 182
Size matters with stadiums, and Michigan remains the largest by capacity at 107,601, edging fellow Big Ten venues Beaver Stadium (Penn State) and Ohio Stadium (Ohio State). In 2013, Michigan drew 115,109 for its game against Notre Dame, the largest crowd ever to attend a football game on campus. The listed capacity has ended in “01” since 1956 with the “extra seat” belonging to former Michigan coach and athletic director Fritz Crisler.
The stadium went through a $227 million renovation in 2010 that brought club suites and private suites and significantly increased the noise level around the large bowl. Games at “the Big House” — a phrase coined by former commentator Keith Jackson — begin dramatically with the Wolverines touching a “Go Blue” banner as they enter the field. — Adam Rittenberg
Points: 175
Since opening in 1930, Notre Dame Stadium has hosted some of college football’s most significant teams, players, coaches and moments. But the venue is known as much for what lies just beyond its northern edge as for what’s inside.
Since fall 1964, the “Word of Life” mural on the university library tower has welcomed ball carriers to the north end zone. Known as “Touchdown Jesus,” the mural depicts Jesus Christ with his arms raised, similar to the touchdown signal. Located a little more than a football field away from the Knute Rockne Gate, where Notre Dame players enter for each game, Touchdown Jesus is visible from a portion of seats in the south part of the stadium and is frequently shown in camera shots of Notre Dame contests. — Rittenberg
Points: 172
College football has brought mega-stadiums to less-populated areas, and arguably none stands out like Beaver Stadium, the nation’s second-largest venue by capacity. The stadium rises near Mount Nittany on the northern edge of State College, which has a population of around 41,000 but becomes the third-largest city in Pennsylvania for Penn State home games. The stadium’s size and capacity (106,572) mirror Penn State’s growth over time. The stadium moved to its current location in 1960 and had mushroomed from a capacity of around 46,000 to 83,770 by 1980.
Penn State won two national championships during the 1980s, which led to the addition of about 10,000 more seats to Beaver Stadium by 1991. An 11,500-seat deck in the south end zone in 2001 brought capacity to six figures. The team’s White Out games — where students and other fans come dressed completely in white — provide one of the sport’s most striking visuals. — Rittenberg
Points: 151
Washington boasts that Husky Stadium is “the greatest setting in college football,” and it’s hard to blame it for saying so. Constructed on the banks of picturesque Lake Washington, this mammoth 70,138-seat stadium is a rare big-city venue with big-time college football. With views of the Seattle skyline, Mount Rainier and a pair of mountain ranges, Husky Stadium is the premier college football bucket-list trip on the West Coast.
Pregaming on the water is a favorite pastime, with a range of experiences from small boats to expensive yachts lining Union Bay. Husky Stadium went through an extensive renovation in 2012 that modernized the facility, bringing fans closer to the field and adding to what was already a formidable home-field advantage. — Kyle Bonagura
Points: 149
Arguably no college football stadium is more synonymous with its original shape than Ohio Stadium. The venue opened in 1922 as the nation’s first horseshoe-shaped stadium with double decks. Architect Howard Dwight Smith went with a horseshoe shape to accommodate track events in the open end, and so that all seats could face the field. The stadium is famously “on the banks of the Olentangy River,” as legendary college football announcer Keith Jackson would say, but a bend in the river had to be straightened to accommodate the venue and natural drainage was rerouted into sewers.
Although “The Horseshoe” has been filled in by a grandstand behind the south end zone, Ohio Stadium will forever be known by its original shape. Before each game, the band famously performs Script Ohio, culminating with the dotting of the “i.” — Rittenberg
8. Camp Randall Stadium, Wisconsin Badgers, est. 1917
Points: 133
The site of Camp Randall Stadium is steeped in history — Wisconsin’s state fair took place there before the Civil War, and Union soldiers were trained there during the war — but it might be most recognized for a recent tradition: “Jump Around.”
In 1998, Wisconsin blasted House of Pain’s 1992 song “Jump Around” between the third and fourth quarters of its homecoming game against Purdue. Students and others in both stadium decks bounced to the song, causing the venue to shake with excitement. The Badgers went on to beat the Boilermakers and began playing the song before the fourth quarter of every game. Players and visiting fans often join in the “Jump Around,” creating one of the most exciting and recognizable scenes in college football. — Rittenberg
Points: 115
Bronze statues of Alabama’s national championship-winning coaches flank the right side of a brick-paved walkway on the north end of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the site of the Walk of Champions, where thousands of fans gather on both sides of the plaza hours before the game to welcome Crimson Tide players and coaches as they make their way inside.
The stadium has seen tremendous transformation over the past 20-plus years and now seats 101,821 people and features luxurious suites and club seating. As recently as the 1990s, Alabama would play three or four home games a year at Legion Field in Birmingham, but Bryant-Denny is now firmly the Tide’s football cathedral. It’s a sea of crimson mixed in with Bear Bryant’s familiar houndstooth pattern on game Saturdays. The decibel levels are ear-piercing with chants of “Roll Tide” and the tradition of playing “Dixieland Delight” by country music band Alabama in the fourth quarter. — Low
Points: 112
Members of the Vol Navy set sail as early as the middle part of the week for Neyland Stadium, which sits on the banks of the Tennessee River. The stream of orange-clad banners flying from boats floating down the river is matched only by the mass of orange that engulfs Peyton Manning Pass to watch the Vols’ players and coaches make their way down the hilly street and into the stadium. For years, Neyland Stadium has owned one of the largest capacities in the sport, and it is now listed at 101,915 after some renovations over the years.
Constructed in 1921 as Shields-Watkins Field (now the name of the playing surface), Neyland Stadium is also home to one of the most renowned entrances in college football. The Pride of the Southland Marching Band forms a giant “T” for the players and coaches to run through just before kickoff, and the end zones are painted in orange-and-white checkerboards. And one other thing: You’re liable to hear the band crank up “Rocky Top” about 100 times a game. — Low
11. Memorial Stadium, Clemson Tigers, est. 1942
Points: 105
A trip to Clemson includes “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football.” There is a slow buildup, of course. The giant videoboard keeps the crowd updated: Players loading up the buses to take the 1 minute, 45 second drive from the locker room to the hill atop the east end zone. Coach Dabo Swinney is always the first one off the bus. He and his players stop first to rub Howard’s Rock, which was placed on a pedestal at the top of the hill in 1966 but did not become a pregame tradition until the next year.
They stand atop the hill, edging close to the Rock, as the crowd builds into a frenzy. Then: BANG! Swinney is off like Usain Bolt in the 100-meter dash, running down the hill with his players in fast pursuit as the Clemson band plays “Tiger Rag,” fireworks shoot from the videoboard and fans scream C-L-E-M-S-O-N to cap it off. — Andrea Adelson
Points: 94
The atmosphere at Michie Stadium — which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season — is unmatched in America, beginning with its setting at West Point on New York’s Hudson River and the cadets’ full-dress parade three hours before kickoff on game days. In the fall, the surrounding valley is painted with the colors of foliage while 1,000 cadets line the field and unfurl an American flag that stretches from goal line to goal line before more jump from a helicopter with the game ball and parachute down to midfield.
It’s a fully immersive experience: Cadets from various campus organizations work all the concession stands, and the T-shirt cannon is a miniature tank. — Dave Wilson
Points: 91
It doesn’t take long to notice things are different at Kyle Field. Instead of cheerleaders, there are Yell Leaders who organize coordinated yells for fans, including the largest student section in America at more than 36,000 strong. The weekend begins with Midnight Yell on Friday nights, where the Aggies practice said yells in Kyle with thousands of their friends.
True to A&M’s origins as a military school, the Aggies’ Corps of Cadets is still a huge part of game day, and the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band is a large, military-style outfit that puts on intricate halftime shows. It all adds up to one of the most unique game-day experiences in the country, with the largest stadium in the SEC (102,733) providing a raucous, memorable setting on Saturdays. — Wilson
14. Autzen Stadium, Oregon Ducks, est. 1967
Points: 90
Despite its modest 54,000-seat capacity, Autzen Stadium has long been billed as one of the loudest stadiums in college football. There’s just something about the combination of the stadium’s generic potato-chip-shaped design and passionate fan base that seemingly defies logic. Taking in a game at Autzen feels more like somewhere with twice the crowd size than like other stadiums of a similar size.
The proof is in the results: Over the past 10 years, the Ducks are tied with the 10th-best record in college football (90-38) but rank No. 6 when playing at home vs. No. 15 when on the road. Plus, there’s a duck that rides a motorcycle to kick things off. — Bonagura
0:23
Metallica hypes up Virginia Tech
Before Virginia Tech hosts Notre Dame, legendary band Metallica delivers a message to hype up Hokies fans before the team runs out on the field.
Points: 77
“Enter Sandman” has become an iconic part of Virginia Tech football, and it is hard to believe this tradition is only 25 years old. The song itself, by Metallica, has been played before the football team enters Lane Stadium since 2000, and it all started to help christen the first videoboard in the stadium. Fun fact: “Enter Sandman” was chosen over “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses and “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project, which is the Chicago Bulls’ iconic entrance song.
The tradition of the crowd jumping up and down as the song plays began Dec. 1, 2001 — when a band member started to jump and others followed. The cue is easy enough. The beginning instrumentals to the song start playing, signaling the time is near. A pregame highlight video plays, the players gather in the tunnel, and then whoosh, the team runs onto the field after touching the Hokie stone as the song lyrics start playing. The crowd screams, “Exit light! Enter night! Take my hand! We’re off to never-never land!” — Adelson
Points: 73
Memorial Stadium will hit its record 400th straight sellout this season, setting a standard for the legendary Midwest Nice Huskers fans. Mack Brown celebrated them his first year at Texas, when the unranked Longhorns went to Lincoln and ended Nebraska’s 47-game home winning streak. Instead of pelting Texas running back Ricky Williams with insults as a result of the disappointment, they gave him a standing ovation and chanted “Heisman! Heisman!”
On my only trip there as a fan, the Huskers crushed the visitors, and a fan in the end zone nosebleeds tapped me on the shoulder and gently asked, “Excuse me, but don’t they have any other quarterbacks?” then went on to praise the visiting band. Not your standard-issue trash talk. — Wilson
17. Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn Tigers, est. 1939
Points: 69
There are many iconic stadiums across the SEC, but there are only two where one of the best rivalries in college football is played: the Iron Bowl. And Jordan-Hare is a big place — at 88,000 fans, it’s the 11th-largest on-campus stadium. If you happen to see an Auburn victory at Jordan-Hare, walking over to Toomer’s Corner to roll the oak trees with toilet paper is one of many traditions that are unique to college football.
If you show up to Jordan-Hare on the right Saturday, history has shown you might see something iconic. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Points: 66
Sanford Stadium houses one of the strongest programs in the sport and ranks as the ninth-largest seating capacity, making for an electric atmosphere. But for bucket-list purposes, you need to be able to say you’ve seen a game played “between the hedges.” Since the stadium opened in 1929, games have been played between privet hedges that cover about 5,000 square feet around the playing field.
Georgia gave the hedges a revitalization in 2024, with hedges from the same lineage as the originals. With the aesthetic charm, large crowd and great football, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Athens. — Lyles
Points: 64
Osceola and Renegade are as synonymous with Florida State as its tomahawk chop and garnet and gold. The pregame tradition started in 1978 as a way to honor the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which granted its permission and worked with Florida State to design the regalia that Osceola wears while atop an Appaloosa horse known as Renegade. Bill Durham came up with the concept, and the family still runs the program to this day. The war chant and chop were added later in the 1980s. What unfolds is a tradition as unique as any in college football.
Osceola, named for a great Seminole warrior, rides Renegade onto the field to start getting the crowd hyped. The band plays the war chant; the crowd does the chop. The team enters the field, then stands on its sideline, helmets raised, as Osceola rides Renegade to midfield, holding a flaming spear. He rears Renegade up on his hind legs and then BOOM! plants the spear to roaring approval. — Adelson
20. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida Gators, est. 1930
Points: 61
How many schools can say they have two traditions that are immediately identifiable? Florida can. Its oldest tradition stems back to the 1940s, when George Edmondson started a “Two Bits” cheer in the stands that eventually led to his legendary pregame ritual. Starting in the 1970s, Edmondson would dress in a yellow button-down shirt, blue-and-orange tie and pinstripe pants, whistle around his neck of course, and lead the cheer from the field before every home game. He became known simply as “Mr. Two Bits.” Florida has continued the tradition in his honor with celebrity “Mr. Two Bits,” so the pregame cheer lives on.
But a new tradition emerged in 2017. As a way to pay tribute to the late Tom Petty, a Gainesville native, “I Won’t Back Down” plays between the third and fourth quarters. Imagine more than 88,000 people at The Swamp — one of the loudest stadiums in America — singing, “Hey, baby, there ain’t no easy way out” and “I won’t back down” in thunderous unison. Pretty powerful. Especially at night with phone flashlights on. — Adelson
21. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss Rebels, est. 1915
Points: 51
Long one of the most unique atmospheres in college sports with its famed tailgating scene in The Grove, a 10-acre grassy area of land shaded by oak trees in the heart of campus, Vaught-Hemingway turns into Party Central in the fall. Fans from both teams flock to open-air tents in The Grove that feature all the amenities, from big-screen TVs to fully stocked bars, even chandeliers. The women students are known to dress in their Sunday best, and there’s an air of Southern hospitality you don’t find on every SEC campus in the fall.
Vaught-Hemingway crammed in a record crowd of 66,703 last season for the Rebels’ win over LSU. There are certainly larger stadiums around the college football landscape, but there aren’t many environments that are more fun than spending a day at the Vaught. — Low
22. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC Trojans, est. 1923
Points: 44
One of the few sports venues designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will become the first stadium in the world to host the Olympic Games three times when they come to town in 2028. As a college football stadium, few in the country have been the site for as many iconic moments over the decades, and one can’t help but feel one is on hallowed ground when passing through the turnstiles.
For years, the capacity sat near 100,000 people, but that number dropped to just shy of 80,000 after a $315 million renovation completed before the 2019 season added luxury suites and other modern amenities. — Bonagura
Points: 42
If you are looking for one of the most beautiful scenes in all of college football, Kidd Brewer Stadium is the place for you. The stadium is surrounded by the natural beauty of North Carolina’s High Country. If you go during the right time of year as the leaves are changing, you might think you have found yourself in the most perfect place on Earth.
The stadium holds just more than 40,000, but what it might lack in size it makes up for in noise. Fans in Boone create a booming atmosphere that makes it a tough place for road teams from the minute they get off the bus. — Lyles
24. Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Oklahoma Sooners, est. 1923
Points: 40
Also known as the Palace on the Prairie, the Sooners’ stadium is surrounded by reminders of Oklahoma’s football glory. Outside the south end zone, there are statues of coaching legends Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops. On the east side, Heisman Park is packed with seven of the Sooners’ Heisman Trophy winners: Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978), Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018).
Amid the Gothic architecture of the surrounding campus, “BOOMER” and “SOONER” ring out, as the Sooner Schooner glides across the field, forming one of the most quintessentially college settings in the country. — Wilson
25. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Texas Longhorns, est. 1924
Points: 38
When Bevo XV, 1,700 pounds of longhorn, ambles his way down the ramp to the field, you are already awash in Texana. The game-day setting in Austin has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years as Texas has embraced the city around it: Outside DKR, there are pregame festivities on Bevo Boulevard and free Longhorn City Limits concerts with name-brand headliners.
Inside, LED lights bathe more than 100,000 fans in burnt orange while fans watch the Longhorns on Campbell-Williams Field, named for Earl and Ricky, Texas’ two Heisman Trophy winners. Add in a “Texas Fight!” chant and a performance by the 400-member Longhorn Band — the “Showband of the Southwest” — playing Big Bertha II, the biggest bass drum in the world, and you’ve got yourself a Texas-sized party. — Wilson
Others receiving votes: P1FCU Kibbie Dome, Idaho Vandals (36); Cotton Bowl (35); Kinnick Stadium, Iowa Hawkeyes (31); Albertsons Stadium, Boise State Broncos (24), Folsom Field, Colorado Buffaloes (21); LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU Cougars (21); Franklin Field, Penn Quakers (18); Rice-Eccles Stadium, Utah Utes (17); War Memorial Stadium, Wyoming Cowboys (17); Milan Puskar Stadium, West Virginia Mountaineers (16); Boone Pickens Stadium, Oklahoma State Cowboys (14); Sun Bowl, UTEP Miners (13); Reser Stadium, Oregon State Beavers (8); Falcon Stadium, Air Force Falcons (7); Martin Stadium, Washington State Cougars (6); Aloha Stadium, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (4); Williams-Brice Stadium, South Carolina Gamecocks (2).
