Top College Football Venues

Think it’s too early to start turning your attention to college football? Odds are you’ve never spent an evening in a sports bar in the South…or the Southwest…or the Midwest.

Sure, the season only lasts about four months, but that gives us the other eight to bicker, argue, and otherwise get lathered up over big games won, lost and stolen, and what the folks who went away mad are going to do about this grave injustice.

If you’re a longtime fan, you get it. If you are new to the party, these are 10 places you won’t want to miss. Even if you don’t care who wins — and you will be very much in the minority on THAT count — these venues offer experiences you’ll want to soak up, figuratively as well as literally:

1. Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN — Why fight the traffic when you can dock your boat and walk right into the game? The Volunteer Navy, and about 100,000 other light orange-clad lunatics, make a Tennessee home game once of college football’s true spectacles.

2. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (aka “The Swamp”), Gainesville, FL — It’s usually hot and humid, and that’s just the way the Gators and their fans like it. The place has lost a bit of its intimidation factor since Steve Spurrier (known lovingly around the SEC as “Darth Visor”) moved on, but it’s still the sort of venue where unbeaten seasons and championship dreams come to die.

3. Kyle Field, College Station, TX — If college football is all about cute cheerleaders, contraband whisky and crazy fans with painted faces, Kyle Field…isn’t. Still, those Texas A&M “yell leaders” in their institutional whites certainly qualify as something a little different, just like the sight of thousands of male fans squeezing their private parts in empathy with their team during, uh, critical moments. Unique venue, or “who left the door open at the nut house”? You make the call. Either way, it’s a sight to behold.

4. Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA — There isn’t a better tailgate in college football than at LSU, and the games haven’t been too bad lately, either. A stroll through the parking lot a few hours before gametime is a delight to the senses: Cajun cooking, Zydeco music, and any kind of adult beverage you could want. You haven’t had the full college experience until you’ve taken in a Looziana Saturday night. Come early, be hungry and thirsty, root for LSU, and you’ll feel right at home. If not, you’ll be treated like a visitor, and outsiders haven’t come to regard the place as “Death Valley” for nothing.

5. Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA — Yes, it’s old. Yes, the sight lines aren’t the greatest. And, yes, getting in and out is a little bit of a nightmare. Still, you can’t beat the experience of watching a big-time college football game with the San Gabriel Mountains serving as background. One of the most picturesque settings around, and the weather usually cooperates, too.

6. Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI — Pack more than 100,000 blue-and-maize wearing Wolverine fans into the joint, bring on the Ohio State Buckeyes, and you’ve got the makings for a pretty special late season afternoon. (If that doesn’t work out, Notre Dame or Michigan State will do just fine.) Being in Ann Arbor doesn’t hurt, of course, so leave yourself plenty of time for a stroll around campus, too.

7. Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN — Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Fighting Irish bring out the passions in just about every college football fan, and a trip to South Bend will not disappoint. Pretty-as-a-postcard campus, greats fans and traditions, and who else would be so bold as to presume that Jesus really is helping celebrate another ND score?

8. Memorial Stadium, University of California, Berkeley, CA — Nestled in the hills above the Bay Area, this is more about atmosphere than anything else. Strawberry Canyon is a place you won’t soon forget, offering spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridge. The resident Golden Bears have been a little more feisty of late, too, so visitors often get a decent football game for their money, too.

9. Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE — This sea of red becomes the second largest city in Nebraska when the Cornhuskers take the field. Some of the most rabid and knowledgable fans in college football have been known to applaud a winning visitor when the performance is worthy of the honor.

10. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX — It’s a blast furnace in September (and even October), but a sea of orange is just the stuff to warm any Longhorn’s heart. Make it a full “Tour de Bevo” by starting out with a bowl of XXX chili at the Texas Chili Parlor, then celebrate (or drown your sorrows) as 80,000 fans magically jam into nearby Scholz Bier Garten after the game. Did we mention all of this happens in Austin? That works, too!