25 Largest College Football Stadiums
February 24, 2024
I recently wrote a few other college football-related articles for 国产第一福利影院草草, one on the biggest college football rivalries, one on the college football teams with the most championships, and another on the highest paid college football coaches. I鈥檝e ingested more college football history and lore in the past few months than I did over the course of my entire life. So when it comes to this article on the 25 largest college football stadiums, I can say with the backing of all my newfound knowledge that college football stadiums are a big deal. They鈥檙e historical monuments, they embody legacy and tradition, they鈥檙e reminders of past triumphs and promises of a better future.
In 1869, when college football first kicked off, just about 100 spectators gathered around the sidelines to watch Rutgers and Princeton duke it out. Now it鈥檚 not all that extraordinary when college football game attendances eclipse the 100,000 mark. These stadiums鈥攐ld, new, and recently renovated鈥攈ave nicknames, too. There鈥檚 Death Valley (LSU), The Swamp (University of Florida), The Big House (University of Michigan), the House that Rockne Built (Notre Dame).聽 Here are the 25 largest college football stadiums in the country.
25 Largest College Football Stadiums
#25. Temple 鈥� (Philadelphia, PA) 鈥� 68,532
Kicking off our list of the 25 largest college football stadiums is Temple鈥檚 home field, Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, with a capacity just shy of 69,000. That might not sound like a lot in comparison to some of the behemoths in the Big 10. But just to put it in perspective鈥攖he capacity of Lincoln Financial Field dwarfs the highest-capacity Major League Baseball Stadium by about 20,000 heads (the A鈥檚 Oakland Coliseum holds just about 57,000).
#24. Iowa 鈥� (Iowa City, Iowa) 鈥� 69,250
#23. Washington 鈥� (Seattle, Wash.) 鈥� 70,138
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#22. Arkansas 鈥� (Fayetteville, Ark.) 鈥� 72,000
#21. Michigan State 鈥� (East Lansing, Mich.) 鈥� 74,866
Spartan Stadium, AKA 鈥淭he Woodshed鈥�, is home to the Michigan State Spartans, those perpetual underdogs to the University of Michigan Wolverines. The Woodshed was built in 1923, and it鈥檚 been the site of two national championship seasons for the Spartans, first in 1952 and then again in 1965. And by the way鈥攖he Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is not as one-sided as you might think, at least in terms of overall championships. The Spartans have won it all twice; the Wolverines, just three times.
#20. Wisconsin 鈥� (Madison, Wisc.) 鈥� 75,822
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#19. University of Southern California 鈥� (Los Angeles, CA) 鈥� 77,500
There鈥檚 a lot of history at the LA Coliseum. It was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to Los Angeles World War I vets and was completed in 1923. It鈥檚 the home of the USC Trojans, and as such, it鈥檚 seen its fair share of college football greatness: the Trojans are seven-time national champions. The Coliseum also served as the home of the LA Rams from 1946 to 1979, and then again from 2016 to 2019.
Major renovations to the Coliseum were completed in 2019. A $315 million project, it was the most significant renovation on the stadium in 20 years. With the improvements and added amenities, though, came a reduction in overall capacity, from around 92,000 to 77,500.
#18. South Carolina 鈥� (Columbia, SC) 鈥� 77,559
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#17. Florida State University 鈥� (Tallahassee, FL) 鈥� 79,560
Florida State University in Tallahassee was established 173 years ago, in 1851, which makes it Florida鈥檚 oldest university. Almost 100 years after the school鈥檚 founding, Doak Campbell Stadium鈥攏amed after FSU鈥檚 first president鈥攐pened its doors. Florida State has won three national championships since then, in 1993, 1999, and 2013.
In 2020, a petition sought to change the name of the stadium on the grounds that Doak Campbell, during his tenure as FSU president, resisted racial integration. In my estimation, those are pretty solid grounds for a name-change, but as of yet, FSU鈥檚 home field is still officially called Doak Campbell Stadium.
#16. Notre Dame 鈥� (South Bend, Ind.) 鈥� 80,795
Head coach Knute Rockne, godfather of Notre Dame football, oversaw the construction of Notre Dame Stadium in 1930. He then went on to lead Notre Dame to its first national championship and become its first 100-win head coach. Which is why the stadium鈥檚 nickname鈥斺�渢he House that Rockne Built鈥濃�攈as both a literal and figurative ring.
While Notre Dame hasn鈥檛 won a national championship in the past three decades, they鈥檙e one of the most storied football programs in the sport鈥檚 history. Their reign of dominance stretches from the 1930s to the late 1980s, and it includes eight AP Poll era national championships.
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#15. Clemson 鈥� (Clemson, SC) 鈥� 81,500
#14. Nebraska 鈥� (Lincoln, NE) 鈥� 85,458
Memorial Stadium, home of the Cornhuskers, was built in 1923. Back then, it had a capacity of 31,000. Expansions and renovations over the years have upped that number to a whopping 85,459. The Huskers are the owners of an NCAA-record 396 consecutive sold-out games at Memorial Stadium. That streak dates back to 1962. 听听
The Nebraska Huskers of the 1990s, led by head coach Tom Osborne, are one of the sport鈥檚 true dynasties. They won it all in 1994, 1995, and 1997, and were in the top 25 AP Poll every year between 1973 and 1997.
#13. Oklahoma 鈥� (Norman, OK) 鈥� 86,112
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
12. Auburn 鈥� Stadium (Auburn, AL) 鈥� 87,451
#11. University of Florida 鈥� (Gainesville, FL) 鈥� 88,548
Actually, it鈥檚 the Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. But really, it鈥檚 The Swamp. The Gators鈥� home field was built in 1930 with an original capacity of 22,000. Now, with its capacity of 88,548, it鈥檚 the 12th largest stadium in the entire US, the 18th largest in the world, and the largest stadium in the state of Florida by a healthy margin.
The Gators are currently struggling under head coach Billy Napier, but Steve Spurrier made them a powerhouse in the 1990s, and Urban Meyer led them to national championships in 2006 and 2008.
#10. UCLA 鈥� (Pasadena, CA) 鈥� 91,136
The Rose Bowl, home of college football鈥檚 annual Rose Bowl game and the UCLA Bruins, opened in 1922. Designed by architect Myron Hunt, it鈥檚 since been recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark.
The Rose Bowl has hosted five Super Bowl games, the 1994 FIFA World Cup Men鈥檚 Final, the 1999 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup Final, and the 1984 Olympic Soccer Gold Medal Match.
#9. Georgia 鈥� (Athens, GA) 鈥� 92,746
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#8. Texas 鈥� K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, TX) 鈥� 100,119
From here on out in the list of the 25 largest college football stadiums, the numbers start to get shocking. These stadiums are not only the largest college football stadiums in the country, they鈥檙e among the highest-capacity stadiums in the entire world.
The Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium is home of the Texas Longhorns. It was opened in 1924 and has been expanded nine times since then. It鈥檚 the seventh-biggest stadium in the US and the ninth-largest in the world. In September 2022, a record 105,213 spectators were in attendance to watch the Longhorns take on the University of Alabama鈥擳exas would end up losing, 19-20. Overall, the Longhorns enjoy a decisive homefield advantage at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium: from the stadium鈥檚 inaugural year through 2018, the Longhorns boast a home record of 275-117-10, a winning percentage of .764.
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#7. University of Alabama 鈥� (Tuscaloosa, AL) 鈥� 101,821
Bryant-Denny Stadium is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Built all the way back in 1929, it was first known as Denny Stadium, after George H. Denny, University of Alabama鈥檚 president from 1912 to 1932. The Bryant namesake was added in 1975 in tribute to Alabama alum and longtime Crimson Tide head coach Paul 鈥淏ear鈥� Bryant, who, over the course of his tenure, amassed an astounding 6 national championships.
#6. University of Tennessee 鈥� (Knoxville, TN) 鈥� 101,915
Another stadium named after a legacy head coach, the mammoth Neyland Stadium is the home field of the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team. Built in 1921, it鈥檚 got a capacity of 101,915, but in 2004 an attendance of 109,061 was recorded for the Vols鈥� matchup against the Florida Gators.
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
聽#5. Louisiana State University 鈥� (Baton Rouge, LA) 鈥� 102,321
Both Clemson鈥檚 Memorial Stadium and LSU鈥檚 Tiger Stadium have worn the nickname 鈥淒eath Valley.鈥� According to Clemson鈥檚 athletics website, Memorial Stadium took on the moniker after a 1948 win over Presbyterian College. In 1959, though, after LSU defeated Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, the Tigers鈥� home field took over the rights to the 鈥淒eath Valley鈥� nickname. We can leave the spat to the rivals, but in terms of the raw numbers, Tiger Stadium has the distinctive edge. With its capacity of 102,321, it鈥檚 the fifth-largest college football stadium and the seventh-largest stadium in the world.
#4. Texas A&M 鈥� (College Station, TX) 鈥� 102,733
#3. Ohio State 鈥� (Columbus, OH) 鈥� 102,780
25 Largest College Football Stadiums (Continued)
#2. Penn State 鈥� (University Park, PA) 鈥� 106,572
At this point in the list of the 25 largest college stadiums, we鈥檙e reaching small-to-medium-sized city territory. The town I grew up in has a population of around 20,000. The city I currently live in has a population of 80,000. And to pick two places out of a hat鈥攖he population of Santa Monica, California currently sits around 91,000, and the population of Albany, New York鈥攚hich is New York鈥檚 state capital, by the way鈥攈overs just below 99,000.
Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, has an official capacity of 106,572, and it maxed out in 2018 for a game against Ohio State with a record-setting 110,889 in attendance. It鈥檚 been the official home field of the Lions since 1960, though some vestiges of earlier iterations of the stadium remain鈥攕ome of which date to 1909.
#1. University of Michigan 鈥� (Ann Arbor, MI) 鈥� 107,601
Topping the list of the 25 largest college football stadiums is The Big House, Michigan Stadium, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines. Its official capacity is a few hundred shy of 108,000, which makes it the largest college football stadium, the largest stadium in the US, and the third-largest stadium in the world (the largest stadium in the world, by the way, is Narendra Modi Stadium, a cricket stadium in Gujarat, India).
Unlike a lot of the other stadiums on this list, when Michigan Stadium was built in 1927, it already had an impressive capacity of 72,000. In 2013, a record 115,109 were recorded in attendance for a game between the Wolverines and Notre Dame.
25 Largest College Football Stadiums – Additional Resources
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