By: Mitch Ryan|Aug 8, 2024
This country might've been founded on baseball, but there's no question that football is America's game. From humble beginnings of Ivy League teams in leather helmets while they marched through the mud, to modern-day arenas where hundreds of thousands of fans shake the largest modern stadiums, U.S. universities have cheered on their schools to fight for glory and win the day.
Every alumni will argue that their stadium is the best, but there are only a few contenders for the largest college football stadiums in the country. Many of these stadiums are drenched in history, and they stand as meccas for students and sports fans to marvel at the moment and soak up school spirit.
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Some fields can really pack them in, and the ones that do so consistently can boast some of the loudest and rowdiest fanbases in the world. Read on to learn about the biggest college football stadiums by capacity.
Contents
- Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
- Memorial Stadium (Clemson Tigers)
- Memorial Stadium (Nebraska Cornhuskers)
- Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn Tigers)
- Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida Gators)
- Rose Bowl Stadium (UCLA Bruins)
- Sanford Stadium (Georgia Bulldogs)
- Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Texas Longhorns)
- Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama Crimson Tide)
- Neyland Stadium (Tennessee Volunteers)
- Tiger Stadium (Louisiana State University Tigers)
- Kyle Field (Texas A&M Aggies)
- Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Buckeyes)
- Beaver Stadium (Penn State Nittany Lions)
- Michigan Stadium (Michigan Wolverines)
15. Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
Home of Rudy and the famous green and gold Fighting Irish is Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Built in 1930 and renovated most recently in 2017, this historic stadium can hold up to 80,795.
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14. Memorial Stadium (Clemson Tigers)
Clemson's Memorial Stadium, known by fans of the South Carolina school as "Death Valley," is one of the greatest sports experiences in the world. Every year, 81,500 fans cheer on their Tigers as they rush the field down a banked hill called "the Slope."
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13. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska Cornhuskers)
Nebraska's Memorial Stadium is considered by many sports fans to be one of the great "cathedrals of football," and rightfully so: Cheering on the Cornhuskers in a sold-out 85,000-person stadium would come close to a religious experience.
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12. Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn Tigers)
To give some context to how much Auburn fans love football, this stadium surrounding legendary Pat Dye Field becomes the fifth-largest city in Alabama. Over 88,000 fans have called this place home since 1939.
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11. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida Gators)
It's easy to see how the blue-and-orange-clad Gators have an immense following in the south when you visit Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, along with another 88,500 fans. Even more tail "gators" (pun intended) will swarm for miles around the stadium for big games against rival school Florida State.
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10. Rose Bowl Stadium (UCLA Bruins)
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, has hosted five Super Bowls, two Summer Olympics, two FIFA World Cup Finals and the annual bowl game for which it's named. Max capacity tops out at just over 91,000.
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9. Sanford Stadium (Georgia Bulldogs)
Sanford Stadium has been an iconic symbol of Athens, Georgia, since it opened in 1929. The clash of pads can barely be heard "between the hedges" as the Bulldogs play for 92,746 raving fans in red and black.
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8. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Texas Longhorns)
They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that old adage rings true in terms of school spirit. The Lone Star State boasts some of the biggest college football stadiums in the country, with the University of Texas Darrell K Royal-Texas Stadium in Austin being one of the most impressive, housing over 100,000 seats.
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7. Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama Crimson Tide)
Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has been an icon of the sport since it opened roughly a century ago. The Crimson Tide has been a dominant force in the SEC for generations, and that is due in large part to their loyal fanbase: 101,821 of them fill the seats every game day to keep their team rolling.
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6. Neyland Stadium (Tennessee Volunteers)
Roughly 102,000 loyal Big-Orange fans flock to the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, to support their squad. Already one of the biggest college football stadiums in the country, it's expected rise in the rankings after a whopping budget of $337 million was just passed last year for expanding renovations.
5. Tiger Stadium (Louisiana State University Tigers)
This home of the LSU Tigers is one of the most intimidating football stadiums in football. The pilgrimage of 102,500 fans to another "Death Valley" in Baton Rouge is a time-honored tradition that is a sight to behold for any sports fan.
4. Kyle Field (Texas A&M Aggies)
Kyle Field in College Station is the largest stadium in the state, housing 102,733 seats. It has been the home of the Aggies since 1905. However, the stadium has gone through many changes over the years, undergoing one of the most expensive and intensive renovations in college athletics history.
3. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Buckeyes)
Also known as "The Horseshoe" and "The House that Harley built," this mammoth structure in Columbus, Ohio, beats out Kyle Field by 50 seats to land the No. 3 spot on this list. Football is a game of inches, and a win's a win — so you can have this one, Buckeyes fans.
2. Beaver Stadium (Penn State Nittany Lions)
Beaver Stadium at University Park is home to the historic Big 10 powerhouse Nittany Lions. With an impressive capacity of 106,572 seats, it is the second-largest college football stadium in the country and the fourth-largest stadium in the world.
1. Michigan Stadium (Michigan Wolverines)
The honor of the largest college football stadium goes to "The Big House" in Ann Arbor. Over 107,500 fans flock to Michigan Stadium to cheer on their Wolverines against one of their many rivals, including the second and third schools on this list and their little brother school in East Lansing, Michigan State.
Now That's Interesting
Football has always been a brutal and dangerous sport, but it was once deadly. Following the 1904 season that witnessed almost 20 football-related fatalities, the sport was beginning to lose favor with college athletics departments across the country, and rumors of banning football entirely began to spread. President Theodore Roosevelt, a football-fanatic himself, encouraged colleges to overhaul the rules to add more safety features to a close-contact gameplay that once resembled trench warfare. The first down mark was doubled to 10 yards, and the new rules allowed for forward passes that significantly spread the field. These rule changes saved the game from falling into obscurity while also elevating it to the spectacle we see today.
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