Biggest College Football Stadiums of All Time

They hold the history of the game within their walls.

Biggest College Football Stadiums of All Time

Sporting experiences don't get much better than college football stadiums. The oldest stadiums are over 100 years old, and they have so much history that going to a game can feel like visiting a cathedral.

But which ones hold the most people? From humble beginnings to massive expansions to crossing the 100,000-capacity threshold, these are the biggest college football stadiums of all time.

50. Franklin Field

Capacity: 52,593

School: University of Pennsylvania

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Opened: 1895

National championships: 7 (1894, 1895, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1924)

Franklin Field GOAT: Chuck Bednarik

Pennsylvania native Chuck Bednarik stayed in-state to play for Ivy League school Penn, where he was a star on the offensive line and defensive line and also handled punting duties.

Bednarik was a two-time All-American and won the Maxwell Award in 1948.

Bottom Line: Franklin Field

The NCAA says Penn's Franklin Field is the oldest stadium in the country where football is still being played, the first stadium to have a scoreboard and the first stadium to incorporate an upper deck.

It was also the site of the first radio broadcast of a football game and the first television broadcast of a game.

There's a history of national championships at Franklin Field as well. Penn won seven national titles between 1894 and 1924.

49. Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 52,929

School: Indiana University

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

Opened: 1960

National championships: None

Memorial Stadium GOAT: Anthony Thompson

Indiana University running back Anthony Thompson was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1989 and owned the NCAA career touchdowns record for a decade until it was broken by Texas running back Ricky Williams.

Thompson was also a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Most Valuable Player.

Bottom Line: Memorial Stadium

In the Big Ten, Indiana's Memorial Stadium is one of the smaller venues and close to half the size of stadiums at places like Michigan and Ohio State. It's still got some interesting history.

Former football coach Terry Hoeppner, who died in 2007, left an incredible piece of tradition at Memorial Stadium with "Hep's Rock" — a gigantic limestone boulder installed on the side of the north end zone in 2005.

48. Autzen Stadium

Capacity: 54,000

School: University of Oregon

Location: Eugene, Oregon

Opened: 1967

National championships: None

Autzen Stadium GOAT: Marcus Mariota

Marcus Mariota went from a lightly recruited quarterback out of Honolulu's Saint Louis School to the only Heisman Trophy winner in Oregon history.

Mariota also led the Ducks to the College Football Playoff championship game in 2014, where they lost to Ohio State.

Bottom Line: Autzen Stadium

Few stadiums with a capacity of below 60,000 can compare to Autzen Stadium, which feels much, much bigger once you get inside its walls.

That is thanks in no small part to the powerhouse University of Oregon football program, which has played for a national championship twice since 2010 and produced a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Marcus Mariota.

47. Bobby Dodd Stadium

Capacity: 55,000

School: Georgia Tech

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Opened: 1913

National championships: 4 (1917, 1928, 1952, 1990)

Bobby Dodd Stadium GOAT: Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson lit up college secondaries during his three seasons at Georgia Tech.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder was a two-time All-American, and there was absolutely no way to stop Johnson during his time in college.

He won the Biletnikoff Award in 2006 as the nation's top wide receiver after he racked up 1,202 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

Bottom Line: Bobby Dodd Stadium

Bobby Dodd Stadium — better known as "The Flats" to Georgia Tech fans — has been home to the "Ramblin' Wreck" in some form since 1905, even though it wasn't a completed stadium until 1913.

The stadium was also home to the most lopsided game in college football history, a 222-0 win by Georgia Tech over Cumberland in 1916.

46. Arizona Stadium

Capacity: 55,675

School: University of Arizona

Location: Tucson, Arizona

Opened: 1929

National championships: None

Arizona Stadium GOAT: Chuck Cecil

San Diego native Chuck Cecil played three years at the University of Arizona and became one of the most feared safeties in Pac-10 history.

He was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1987, his jersey No. 6 was eventually retired, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Bottom Line: Arizona Stadium

There hasn't been much joy in Arizona Stadium in recent years. The Wildcats haven't had a winning season since 2017, when they went 7-6, and were winless in 2020 under head coach Kevin Sumlin.

The man hired to replace the fired Sumlin might be in for the same fate. Head coach Jedd Fisch started the 2021 season 0-4, including the first loss to Northern Arizona since the 1930s. That happened at Arizona Stadium.

45. Sun Devil Stadium

Capacity: 56,634

School: Arizona State University

Location: Tempe, Arizona

Opened: 1958

National championships: None

Sun Devil Stadium GOAT: Pat Tillman

The late Pat Tillman rose to fame as a hard-hitting safety for Arizona State in the mid-1990s, when he helped lead the Sun Devils to within seconds of a national title.

Tillman enlisted in the U.S. Army following the attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001, and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

Bottom Line: Sun Devil Stadium

Sun Devil Stadium has seen it's seating capacity greatly reduced in the last 30 years. In 1989, the seating was around 75,000, and it's been reduced to its current total of around 56,000. That included a $304 million renovation in 2019.

Sun Devil Stadium has played host to the national championship game twice, in 1998 and 2002, and came within one game of being the home to the actual national champions when Arizona State lost its only game of the year in the final seconds of the 1997 Rose Bowl.

44. Ross-Ade Stadium

Capacity: 57,236

School: Purdue University

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana

Opened: 1924

National championships: None

Ross-Ade Stadium GOAT: Drew Brees

Purdue turned its traditionally ground-bound offense over to a lightly recruited, undersized quarterback from Texas in the late 1990s and changed the trajectory of the program.

Drew Brees started three years at Purdue and was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He led the Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl as a senior.

Bottom Line: Ross-Ade Stadium

Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium has seen its fair share of great players over the years — most notably future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who was an All-Big Ten player for the Boilermakers from 1998 to 2000 and led the team to the Rose Bowl as a senior.

That being said, Purdue's program has fallen on hard times. They've had just one winning season since 2012 and are on their third head coach in that stretch.

43. Carter-Finley Stadium

Capacity: 57,583

School: North Carolina State University

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Opened: 1966

National championships: None

Carter-Finley Stadium GOAT: Philip Rivers

There's not a lot of great college football history to point to when it comes to North Carolina State, but they do have Philip Rivers.

The quarterback started all four years and broke every North Carolina State and ACC passing record in 51 consecutive starts.

Bottom Line: Carter-Finley Stadium

North Carolina State's original home, Riddick Stadium, seated just 23,000 at its max capacity and by the late 1960s had been left behind by most of college football in such a way that the Wolfpack were forced to play a majority of their games on the road.

Enter Carter-Finley Stadium. North Carolina State has been able to host teams and had average to above-average but not great seasons going on five decades.

They haven't won an ACC championship since 1979.

42. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 58,318

School: University of Memphis

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Opened: 1965

National championships: None

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium GOAT: DeAngelo Williams

Few running backs in college football history have dominated at the level of DeAngelo Williams.

He surpassed 1,900 rushing yards in each of his last two seasons at the University of Memphis and finished with over 6,000 rushing yards for his career.

Bottom Line: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

The University of Memphis is the primary tenant for the Liberty Bowl, but it's hard to think of just the Tigers when talking about the stadium, which opened in 1965.

That's because it's been home to so many other things. Most notable is the eponymous bowl game it hosts every year.

Teams from three different professional football leagues have also played there over the years — the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League in the 1970s, the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League in the 1990s and the Memphis Mad Dogs as part of the Canadian Football League's doomed attempt to expand to the U.S. in the 1990s.

41. Boone Pickens Stadium

Capacity: 60,218

School: Oklahoma State University

Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma

Opened: 1920

National championships: 1 (1945)

Boone Pickens Stadium GOAT: Barry Sanders

If you're looking for a quick thrill, feel free to cue up Barry Sanders' Oklahoma State highlights any time you want.

Sanders, who played for Wichita North High School right up the road from Stillwater, won the Heisman Trophy after he rushed for 2,850 yards and scored 52 touchdowns in 1988.

Bottom Line: Boone Pickens Stadium

The man with his name on Oklahoma State's football stadium was an amazing study in American wealth and his love for his alma mater.

T. Boone Pickens gained riches as a corporate raider of the highest order and amassed a fortune of over $1 billion over his life. He gave most of that money away, with the majority of those philanthropic efforts pointed toward Oklahoma State.

The school received a staggering $500 million from Pickens before his death in 2016. The centerpiece of that giving was the football stadium which bears his name.

40. Jones AT&T Stadium

Capacity: 60,454

School: Texas Tech University

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Opened: 1947

National championships: None

Jones AT&T Stadium GOAT: Patrick Mahomes

It's kind of crazy to think we didn't all realize exactly how good Patrick Mahomes was going to be during his time playing at Texas Tech.

The future NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl champion threw for 11,252 yards and 92 touchdowns in just two-and-a-half seasons as the Red Raiders' starter.

Bottom Line: Jones AT&T Stadium

Jones AT&T Stadium has seen over $100 million in renovations over the last 20 years, giving the home team Texas Tech Red Raiders a distinct advantage when they play in Lubbock.

For all of those years, past or present, it's hard to imagine there will be ever be a more electric atmosphere at the stadium than the game on Nov. 1, 2008, when No. 6 Texas Tech defeated No. 1 Texas, 39-33, on a touchdown from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree with one second remaining.

39. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 60,492

School: Jackson State University

Location: Jackson, Mississippi

Opened: 1950

National championships: 3 (1962, 1985, 1996)

Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium GOAT: Walter Payton

Jackson State produced one of the greatest running backs of all time in Walter Payton.

He was originally set to go play in the Big Eight for Kansas State but switched up to Jackson State to play with his older brother, Eddie.

Walter Payton set the SWAC record in 1972 with seven touchdowns in a single game, a 72-0 win over Lane College.

Bottom Line: Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium

This is definitely a weird one to put on the list. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is the home field of Jackson State but is much more well-known for being an alternate home field for Ole Miss and Mississippi State on a regular basis, and also sometimes Southern Mississippi.

Jackson State has grabbed its own headlines in the last few years with the hiring of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as its head coach.

38. Milan Puskar Stadium

Capacity: 60,492

School: West Virginia University

Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

Opened: 1980

National championships: None

Milan Puskar Stadium GOAT: Major Harris

If you were a football fan in the late 1980s, then you knew the name Major Harris, who led West Virginia to within one game of a national championship in 1988.

Harris was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist in 1988 and 1989, earning All-American honors both years.

Bottom Line: Milan Puskar Stadium

Milan Puskar Stadium was just known as Mountaineer Field until the early 2000s, when Morgantown philanthropist Milan Puskar donated $20 million to have the stadium named after him, although it's officially known as Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Anyways, if you're into seeing couches get burned and fans lit to the gills on game day, you can do a lot worse than catching a game here.

37. Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 60,670

School: University of Illinois

Location: Champaign, Illinois

Opened: 1923

National championships: 5 (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927, 1951)

Memorial Stadium GOAT: Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus was a Midwestern phenomenon at linebacker when he was in high school. Playing for Chicago's Vocational High, Butkus was the first junior to be named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year and stayed local to play for the University of Illinois.

Butkus played both ways for the Illini, at center and linebacker, and thene played all nine seasons of his NFL career with the Chicago Bears on defense, becoming one the most feared players of all time.

Bottom Line: Memorial Stadium

Were you surprised to see the University of Illinois claims a whopping five national titles, with the latest coming in 1951? OK, then, it must just be us.

If Illinois were to ever become elite in football again, they've got a pretty amazing place to play home games, and the history behind the stadium is pretty amazing as well.

There are 183 pillars around the stadium, each etched with the name of a University of Illinois student who died fighting in World War I.

35. Cardinal Stadium (Tie)

Capacity: 61,000

School: University of Louisville

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Opened: 1998

National championships: None

Cardinal Stadium GOAT: Lamar Jackson

Louisville's Lamar Jackson thrilled college football fans with his audacious combination of speed and skill in 2016.

He won the Heisman Trophy that year with one of the greatest single seasons of any player, throwing for over 3,500 yards and rushing for over 1,500 yards to go with 51 touchdowns.

Bottom Line: Cardinal Stadium

The history of Louisville football's home stadium, which is one of the newer ones on the list, is a little tricky.

Cardinal Stadium opened in 1998 as Papa John's Stadium. That was its name for the first 20 years of its existence and was supposed to be named that until at least 2040, thanks to donations in the tens of millions from Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter.

In the summer of 2018, Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi ended Schnatter's affiliation with the university and changed the name of the stadium after the pizza chain founder used a racial slur on a corporate conference call.

35. Kroger Field (Tie)

Capacity: 61,000

School: University of Kentucky

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Opened: 1973

National championships: 1 (1950)

Kroger Field GOAT: George Blanda

George Blanda had the good fortune of playing for the University of Kentucky for all three of his seasons on the varsity under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.

The Wildcats lost just one game in those three seasons. Blanda was the starter in 1947 and 1948 for Kentucky and famously played a record 26 seasons in the NFL.

Bottom Line: Kroger Field

Hey, guess what? The University of Kentucky is all of a sudden pretty darn good at football, and they've got a pretty tremendous home-field advantage to go with that at Kroger Field.

One other cool fact about Kroger Field is that it's the newest stadium in the SEC in terms of original construction. It opened in 1973.

34. Davis Wade Stadium

Capacity: 61,337

School: Mississippi State University

Location: Starkville, Mississippi

Opened: 1914

National championships: None

Davis Wade Stadium GOAT: Walt Harris

Walt Harris defined Mississippi State football in the early 1990s as an aggressive, ball-hawking cornerback.

He's still tied for the school's career record for interceptions with 16 and was a three-time All-SEC selection.

Bottom Line: Davis Wade Stadium

Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium doesn’t have a lot to make it unique in its architecture or design, but what it does have is a rich history of great players.

Of those great players, the best may also be one of the most recent. Two-time All-SEC quarterback Dak Prescott played for the Bulldogs from 2012 to 2015 before the Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.

He’s been a two-time Pro Bowler since then and signed a four-year, $160 million contract in March 2021.

33. Yale Bowl

Capacity: 61,446

School: Yale

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Opened: 1914

National championships: 27 (1872, 1874, 1876, 1877, 1879-84, 1886-88, 1891-95, 1897, 1900-02, 1905-07, 1909, 1927)

Yale Bowl GOAT: Calvin Hill

Calvin Hill fell in love with Yale when he came to a home game as a high school senior and watched the Bulldogs play Dartmouth in front of 70,000 fans.

He came to Yale as a quarterback but found fame as a halfback, where he was a two-time All-Ivy League selection and still holds the school record in the triple jump.

Bottom Line: Yale Bowl

If you want to underscore exactly how powerful Yale's football team was in the first part of the 20th century, consider this: The Yale Bowl opened in 1914 with a then-unheard-of capacity of 71,000. That was fitting for a team that won 27 national championships from 1872 to 1927.

While those days of being a national power are long past, the Yale Bowl is still one of the more amazing places to watch a college football game. It doesn't get much better than when the Bulldogs face Harvard, which should be on the bucket list of any college football diehard.

31. Scott Stadium (Tie)

Capacity: 61,500

School: University of Virginia

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Opened: 1931

National championships: None

Scott Stadium GOAT: Herman Moore

Herman Moore was a dynamic wide receiver for the University of Virginia.

He also holds the school record in the high jump and gets the slight nod here over standouts like Tiki Barber and Chris Long.

Bottom Line: Scott Stadium

The University of Virginia's Scott Stadium underwent a massive renovation in 2000, when it expanded by 20,000 seats to its current capacity of 61,500, thanks to a lone donation from Carl Smith.

Virginia's status as a respectable, if not overachieving, football program fell on hard times in the 2000s, with 10 losing seasons in an 11-year stretch from 2006 to 2017. But things have turned around as of late.

The Cavaliers and head coach Bronco Mendenhall won an ACC division title in 2019 and are working on their fourth straight season of .500 or better in 2021.

31. Jack Trice Stadium (Tie)

Capacity: 61,500

School: Iowa State University

Location: Ames, Iowa

Opened: 1975

National championships: None

Jack Trice Stadium GOAT: Seneca Wallace

Quarterback Seneca Wallace thrilled college football fans at Iowa State in the early 2000s, where he started two seasons after spending two years at a junior college.

Wallace was truly special as a senior in 2002, when he threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for over 400 yards.

Bottom Line: Jack Trice Stadium

Some of the most underrated college football fans in America reside in Ames, Iowa, where the Iowa State University plays its home games at Jack Trice Stadium.

The Cyclones have seen a resurgence of late under head coach Matt Campbell and Heisman Trophy candidate running back Breece Hall, who hails from Wichita, Kansas, the same hometown as legendary running back Barry Sanders.

30. California Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 62,467

School: University of California, Berkeley

Location: Berkeley, California

Opened: 1923

National championships: 5 (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937)

California Memorial Stadium GOAT: Tony Gonzalez

Tony Gonzalez was a two-sport standout at Cal in the mid-1990s in basketball and football, but he truly found his footing on the gridiron.

Gonzalez was showing signs of why he would become the greatest tight end of all time during his stint in Berkeley, where he was a consensus All-American in 1996.

Bottom Line: California Memorial Stadium

It's impossible to discuss California Memorial Stadium without discussing arguably the wildest ending to a college football game in history. In the 1982 Big Game, Cal beat Stanford on "The Play" — a kickoff return touchdown that ended with Cal's Kevin Moen plowing through members of the Stanford band and into the end zone.

That wasn't the only bizarre thing that happened in a Cal game. In the 1929 Rose Bowl, Cal defensive lineman Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels returned a fumble 80 yards in the wrong direction against Georgia Tech, setting up a safety that proved to be the difference in a 9-7 win for the Yellow Jackets.

Of course, that game happened in Pasadena, 375 miles away from Berkeley.

29. LaVell Edwards Stadium

Capacity: 63,725

School: Brigham Young University

Location: Provo, Utah

Opened: 1964

National championships: 1 (1984)

LaVell Edwards Stadium GOAT: Ty Detmer

There have been a lot of great quarterbacks at BYU — Jim McMahon, Robbie Bosco, Steve Young and Zach Wilson, to name a few.

Only one BYU player has ever won the Heisman Trophy. San Antonio native Ty Detmer brought home the award after throwing for 5,188 yards and 42 touchdowns in 1990.

Bottom Line: LaVell Edwards Stadium

BYU's home stadium was known as Cougar Stadium from 1964 until 2000, when it was renamed for legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards, who brought the school its only national championship in 1984.

The stadium has more than doubled in size since it opened. It had a capacity of around 29,000 in 1964 even though approximately 33,000 fans packed in for the first home game.

A whole new segment of college football fans is going to get to experience Provo, with BYU reportedly set to join the Big 12.

28. Alamodome

Capacity: 64,000

School: University of Texas-San Antonio

Location: San Antonio, Texas

Opened: 1993

National championships: None

Alamodome GOAT: Marcus Davenport

Marcus Davenport has been the shining star for the University of Texas-San Antonio over its first decade.

He had a whopping 17.5 sacks as a senior in 2017 on his way to being named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.

Bottom Line: Alamodome

This is a tricky one because UTSA just brought football into the picture in 2011 and became the Alamodome's main tenants. But it's a stadium that will forever be associated with a basketball team, the San Antonio Spurs, who called it home from 1993 to 2002.

It's a shame that UTSA can't get its own stadium. While the capacity is 64,000 for its home games, the Roadrunners average around 22,000 fans per game and have been plagued by attendance issues from the jump.

27. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Capacity: 64,038

School: University of Mississippi

Location: Oxford, Mississippi

Opened: 1915

National championships: 3 (1959, 1960, 1962)

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium GOAT: Archie Manning

Ole Miss football is still very much defined by Archie Manning. He started three years, and in his first introduction to a national television audience, he threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 104 yards in a 33-32 loss to Alabama.

Manning was an All-American in 1969 and one of his sons, Eli Manning, also played for Ole Miss and was eventually a No. 1 overall draft pick.

Bottom Line: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Before Vaught-Hemingway Stadium expanded its seating past the 50,000 mark in 1998, many of the bigger Ole Miss games were played down the road in Jackson, Mississippi, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

But having a lot of fans at a home game isn't necessarily an advantage for Ole Miss. The Rebels are 3-7 in the top 10 games for attendance in stadium history.

Ole Miss fans haven't had much to cheer for in recent years. They haven't even shared an SEC divisional title since 2003.

26. Lane Stadium

Capacity: 66,233

School: Virginia Tech

Location: Blacksburg, Virginia

Opened: 1965

National championships: None

Lane Stadium GOAT: Michael Vick

Few players have captured college football's imagination like Michael Vick did at Virginia Tech in the late 1990s. It's not a stretch to say he reinvented the quarterback position.

Vick led the Hokies all the way to the BCS championship game in 1999, bringing Virginia Tech back from a 21-point deficit to take a brief lead before losing to Florida State.

Vick was also an All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist the same year.

Bottom Line: Lane Stadium

Few stadium experiences in college football can compare to when Virginia Tech takes the field at Lane Stadium to Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and the marching band leads the stadium in "The Blacksburg Bounce" that gets things going.

One cool tradition you'll want to know about when you make your way to Lane Stadium is the "Key Play." Since the 1980s, Virginia Tech fans have taken to shaking their keys on crucial third-down plays for the other team.

25. Husky Stadium

Capacity: 70,083

School: University of Washington

Location: Seattle, Washington

Opened: 1920

National championships: 2 (1960, 1991)

Husky Stadium GOAT: Warren Moon

Warren Moon was one of many players on this list who were ahead of their time.

He played his first collegiate season at West Los Angeles College before becoming a three-year starter at the University of Washington.

Moon led the Huskies to a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan as a senior and was named Rose Bowl MVP and Pac-8 Offensive Player of the Year.

Bottom Line: Husky Stadium

You aren't going to get many better views from a college football stadium than what you'll get at Husky Stadium, where the open end of the stadium looks out over Washington Lake, Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountain.

In 2013, Husky Stadium underwent a staggeringly expensive $280 million renovation that adjusted the stadium's structure so the sun didn't shine in the eyes of players from a particular direction.

Husky Stadium played home to the Seattle Seahawks for two years, in 2000 and 2001, while their new stadium was being built.

24. Kinnick Stadium

Capacity: 70,585

School: University of Iowa

Location: Iowa City, Iowa

Opened: 1929

National championships: 5 (1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, 1960)

Kinnick Stadium GOAT: Nile Kinnick

Who else could be the Kinnick Stadium GOAT other than the man himself? Nile Kinnick remains the only Heisman Trophy winner in Iowa history.

The two-time All-Big Ten pick won the Heisman in 1939, died in battle in World War II in 1943, and the stadium the Hawkeyes play in was named in his honor in 1972.

Bottom Line: Kinnick Stadium

The University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium is named for the only Heisman Trophy winner in school history, Nile Kinnick, who died fighting in World War II.

It was called Iowa Stadium until 1972, when a longtime campaign by Cedar Rapids Gazette sportswriter Gus Schrader finally bore fruit, and the name was changed, making it the only stadium in college football named after a Heisman winner.

Kinnick Stadium has some pretty famous quirks, most notably that former head coach Hayden Fry had the visitors' locker room painted completely in pink. Fry's theory was that pink was a passive color, and it would put the opponent in a passive mood prior to kickoff.

23. Faurot Field

Capacity: 71,168

School: University of Missouri

Location: Columbia, Missouri

Opened: 1926

National championships: None

Faurot Field GOAT: Kellen Winslow

College football had never seen a talent like Missouri's Kellen Winslow, a 6-foot-5, 251-pound tight end.

Winslow led the Big Eight in receiving back-to-back seasons, was a consensus All-American and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bottom Line: Faurot Field

The most distinguishable characteristic of the University of Missouri's home stadium is the gigantic, white rock "M" above the north end zone that was put there by students in 1927.

Another cool aspect of Faurot Field is the black-and-gold, domino-style lettering in each end zone.

Seating for Faurot Field was at 75,000 until a stadium renovation in 1995 reduced the seating to 68,000, although it has creeped back up past the 70,000 mark in the last decade.

22. Spartan Stadium

Capacity: 75,005

School: Michigan State University

Location: East Lansing, Michigan

Opened: 1923

National championships: 6 (1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1966)

Spartan Stadium GOAT: Lorenzo White

If you had the pleasure of watching Michigan State football in the mid-1980s, you had the pleasure of seeing running back Lorenzo White tote the rock.

The College Football Hall of Famer was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and became the first Big Ten player in history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season in 1985.

Bottom Line: Spartan Stadium

While Michigan State's Spartan Stadium has a listed capacity of just a hair over 75,000, the stadium has routinely held 80,000 fans for its biggest home games.

Also known as "The Woodshed" to fans, Spartan Stadium at full capacity is kind of what we picture as the perfect home stadium environment for college football, and the home team usually delivers. The Spartans had perfect home records in 2010 and 2011.

It might surprise fans to see Michigan State's national championship total. The school won all six of its titles in a 15-year period from 1951 to 1966.

21. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

Capacity: 76,212

School: University of Arkansas

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas

Opened: 1938

National championships: 1 (1964)

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium GOAT: Billy Ray Smith Jr.

Billy Ray Smith Jr. won the Outland Trophy at Arkansas and is still the only two-time, unanimous All-American in school history, earning the honors in 1981 and 1982.

Smith finished his career with 299 tackles and 63 tackles for loss and played in an era before official stats were kept for sacks.

Bottom Line: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

The home stadium for the University of Arkansas went through a major upgrade in 2001, when it expanded its seating capacity from 50,000 to 70,000 seats with the option to one day increase to 76,000, which is where it's at today.

When it comes to humble beginnings, few programs can claim what Arkansas can. Up until 1938, they played home games in a 350-seat stadium on campus. No, we didn't forget to add a few zeroes.

One of the strange things about the football program at Arkansas is that they still willingly cede home games to War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, where they've played home games since 1948 and will continue to play through at least 2024.

20. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Capacity: 77,501

School: University of Southern California

Location: Los Angeles, California

Opened: 1923

National championships: 11 (1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004)

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum GOAT: Marcus Allen

This is perhaps the most difficult choice on this list. We're going with Marcus Allen, who seemed born to play running back.

Allen did it all during his time at USC, winning a national championship as a freshman in 1978 and capping his career with a Heisman Trophy win in 1981.

Bottom Line: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

It's OK if you weren't totally sure where USC played its home games and thought, maybe, they actually played them at the Rose Bowl. Nope. That's where UCLA plays its home games.

USC and UCLA actually shared the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as their home stadium until 1982, when UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl.

If you want to get an idea of what the Coliseum means to the city of Los Angeles, consider it will be the first stadium to host three Olympic Games in 2028, and the renovation of the stadium that ended in 2018 came in at a whopping price tag of $350 million. And it reduced capacity by approximately 1,000 seats.

19. Notre Dame Stadium

Capacity: 77,622

School: University of Notre Dame

Location: South Bend, Indiana

Opened: 1930

National championships: 11 (1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988)

Notre Dame Stadium GOAT: Tim Brown

Of all the Notre Dame players to put on this list, we like "Touchdown Timmy" because he did a little bit of everything for the Irish.

He finished his career with just over 5,200 all-purpose yards via receiving, kick returns and punt returns.

In 1987, Brown became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy.

Bottom Line: Notre Dame Stadium

Notre Dame Stadium is also known as "The House That Rockne Built" and one of the most legendary places to take in a college football game.

The stadium itself is very basic on the inside, and it's bench seating everywhere outside of the press boxes pretty much. Want a crazy fact about Notre Dame Stadium? It was built for a mere $750,000 in 1930 — only $20.7 million in today's money.

One slight quibble we have with Notre Dame Stadium is their change from natural grass to synthetic turf in 2014. Too many stadiums have gone that route.

18. Doak Campbell Stadium

Capacity: 79,560

School: Florida State University

Location: Tallahassee, Florida

Opened: 1950

National championships: 3 (1993, 1999, 2013)

Doak Campbell Stadium GOAT: Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders is arguably the fastest man to ever step on a football field, and the nation got to known him first at Florida State, where he was a two-time All-American and won the Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back in 1988.

Sanders is now the head coach at another school with a stadium on this list — up-and-coming HBCU power Jackson State.

Bottom Line: Doak Campbell Stadium

What's happened to the Florida State football program over the last few years has been a shame, mainly because they have some of the most loyal fans and one of the best home-field advantages in all of college football.

You couldn't write a story about college football in the 1990s and 2000s without including several chapters on Florida State and Doak Campbell Stadium, where some of the most famous regular-season games of all time have played out.

Will the Seminoles ever get back to past glory? They haven't had a winning season since 2017, and their 0-4 start to the 2021 season showed very little signs of things turning around.

17. Williams-Brice Stadium

Capacity: 80,250

School: University of South Carolina

Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Opened: 1934

National championships: None

Williams-Brice Stadium GOAT: Jadeveon Clowney

In all honesty, there wasn't a lot to pick from when it came to South Carolina, but we'll go with Jadeveon Clowney, even though he essentially quit playing at the end of his Gamecocks career to protect himself for the NFL draft.

Which doesn't seem like the dumbest thing someone could do.

Bottom Line: Williams-Brice Stadium

There is very little unique or appealing about Williams-Brice Stadium. Other than it's really big.

The stadium is so unremarkable in its construction and its history that it was a perfect backdrop for the fake home stadium of the fictional powerhouse football program at ESU — the main school in the 1993 film "The Program" starring James Caan, Craig Sheffer, Omar Epps and Halle Berry.

The Gamecocks last won an outright conference championship in 1969, when they were still in the ACC. Since the SEC split into two divisions in 1992, the Gamecocks have only won a divisional title once, in 2010, when they lost 56-17 to eventual national champion Auburn in the SEC championship game.

16. Camp Randall Stadium

Capacity: 82,123

School: University of Wisconsin

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Opened: 1917

National championships: 3 (1906, 1928, 1942)

Camp Randall Stadium GOAT: Ron Dayne

It was pure entertainment watching Ron Dayne run over, through and around defenses in the late 1990s.

He became the leading rusher in NCAA Division I FBS history with 7,125 yards and won the 1999 Heisman Trophy.

Bottom Line: Camp Randall Stadium

The University of Wisconsin's stadium is named for Camp Randall, which was a Union Army training ground during the Civil War.

We can make a good argument that there is no more exciting place to be in college football at the end of the third quarter than Camp Randall Stadium because of a tradition the school's students began in the 1990s.

When House of Pain's "Jump Around" begins playing, you will get to see what we're talking about. And if you're in the stadium itself, you'll begin to feel the ground shake beneath you. It's incredible. Go ahead and see for yourself.

15. Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 85,458

School: University of Nebraska

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

Opened: 1923

National championships: 5 (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997)

Memorial Stadium GOAT: Tommie Frazier

No quarterback in college football history has ever been a winner on Tommie Frazier's level.

He is one of just five players since the 1950s to quarterback a team to back-to-back national championships, and he's the only player to ever go undefeated with no losses and no ties in the process.

Frazier's also responsible for perhaps the greatest run in college football history.

Bottom Line: Memorial Stadium

University of Nebraska football fans might be the most loyal group of fans in any sport. Husker faithful have sold out every game at Memorial Stadium since 1962, which is amazing considering it has been over a decade since the school was among the nation's elite.

Nebraska's current struggles are truly something to behold. They haven't played in a bowl game since 2016, which was also their last winning season. Tough times in Lincoln for sure.

14. Clemson Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 86,092

School: Clemson University

Location: Clemson, South Carolina

Opened: 1942

National championships: 3 (1981, 2016, 2018)

Clemson Memorial Stadium GOAT: Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson guided Clemson to back-to-back College Football Playoff championship games, narrowly losing to Alabama in 2015 before returning to beat the Crimson Tide on a last-second touchdown pass one year later.

Bottom Line: Clemson Memorial Stadium

Save for the University of Alabama, no college football program has defined college football more than Clemson over the last decade, with two national championships in the last two years.

"Death Valley" has always been an intimidating place to play, but the origin of the name itself is a matter of dispute for decades. What hasn't changed is the incredibly lit way in which the Clemson team takes the field before games by running down a hill into the stadium.

Although it's an entrance that somehow now centers more on head coach Dabo Swinney running on the field ahead of the team. Which is weird.

13. Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 88,308

School: University of Oklahoma

Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Opened: 1922

National championships: 7 (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000)

Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium GOAT: Baker Mayfield

Few players in college football history have been as exciting to watch as University of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, who started his career at another Big 12 school, Texas Tech.

Mayfield was a three-year starter for the Sooners, a two-time All-American and won the Heisman Trophy in 2017.

He also put the Sooners in the College Football Playoff two of his three seasons as the starter.

Bottom Line: Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

It's striking to drive through the plains of Oklahoma and see the University of Oklahoma's football stadium in the distance. A true testament to the fervor Sooner fans have for the program.

The top 10 games for attendance in the stadium's history have all occurred within the last five years. During that stretch, the Sooners have had two Heisman Trophy winners, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

It will be surreal to see what happens in a few years when Oklahoma and Big 12 rival/cohort Texas join the SEC and the matchups we'll get to see in Norman. Oklahoma vs. Alabama with something on the line? Can you imagine?

12. Jordan-Hare Stadium

Capacity: 87,451

School: Auburn University

Location: Auburn, Alabama

Opened: 1939

National championships: 2 (1957, 2010)

Jordan-Hare Stadium GOAT: Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson was a two-sport star in baseball and football at Auburn and played professionally in both sports. But it was at running back where he was truly unique.

Jackson was a two-time All-American for Auburn while running the ball and won the Heisman Trophy in 1985.

Bottom Line: Jordan-Hare Stadium

Auburn did a pretty cool thing in 2005 when they officially named the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium for former head coach Pat Dye, and if you've ever watched a college football game at Auburn you realize how wild things can get there.

And on that note, no moment in Jordan-Hare history from now until the end of time will ever compare to what happened on the final play of the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn on Nov. 30, 2013.

Tied 28-28, Alabama came up short on a 57-yard field goal for the win as time expired. The missed kick was fielded by Auburn's Chris Davis at the back of the end zone and returned 109 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

11. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Capacity: 88,548

School: University of Florida

Location: Gainesville, Florida

Opened: 1930

National championships: 3 (1996, 2006, 2008)

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium GOAT: Tim Tebow

Quarterback Tim Tebow did it all and then some at the University of Florida.

He won two BCS national championships, in 2006 and 2008, and was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007.

Bottom Line: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

It gets really hot and sticky in "The Swamp" on game days — also known as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the home of the University of Florida football team.

While Ben Hill Griffin's official capacity is listed at 88,548, the stadium routinely holds more than 90,000 people for home games. In fact, the top 15 games at The Swamp in terms of attendance all registered over 90,000 fans.

In 2016, the field officially changed its name to Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Griffin Stadium in honor of the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and national championship-winning head coach.

10. Rose Bowl

Capacity: 92,542

School: University of California, Los Angeles

Location: Pasadena, California

Opened: 1922

National championships: 1 (1954)

Rose Bowl GOAT: Jonathan Ogden

You're not going to see a lot of offensive linemen as GOATs, but UCLA's Jonathan Ogden simply could not be left off.

Ogden won the Outland Trophy and was a unanimous All-American in 1995.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Bottom Line: Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl, UCLA's home stadium, is much more well-known for being the host of the eponymous bowl game. It has also been, in fact, home to a massive amount of mediocre football played by the Bruins since they left the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1982.

At one time, UCLA had plans to build an on-campus stadium in the location where their track and field teams now compete at Drake Stadium. But that didn't happen, so they still get to play where a lot of college football history has been made.

Here's one strange quirk about UCLA's home field. They travel 26 miles from their campus to play at the Rose Bowl and just 14 miles to play at the Coliseum for games against their biggest rival, USC.

9. Sanford Stadium

Capacity: 93,246

School: University of Georgia

Location: Athens, Georgia

Opened: 1929

National championships: 2 (1942, 1980)

Sanford Stadium GOAT: Herschel Walker

Herschel Walker did it all during his time at the University of Georgia.

He led the Bulldogs to a national championship in 1980, was a three-time All-American and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Bottom Line: Sanford Stadium

It's hard not to be romantic about football when you take in a home game at the University of Georgia's Sanford Stadium, where the term "between the hedges" originated because of the lush, privet hedges that surround the playing field.

As long as no one gets hurt, there are few funnier things than when fans rush the field at Sanford Stadium and tumble into said hedges.

The hedges have only been removed once in the last 90 years, when they were taken out to accommodate soccer during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

8. Bryant-Denny Stadium

Capacity: 100,077

School: University of Alabama

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Opened: 1929

National championships: 18 (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020)

Bryant-Denny Stadium GOAT: Derrick Thomas

The NCAA didn't officially start recording sacks until 2000, somehow, but that doesn't mean Alabama's Derrick Thomas didn't have more than almost anyone in NCAA history.

Thomas, who died following a car accident in 2000, racked up an amazing 52 sacks in his career with the Crimson Tide and was the first winner of the Butkus Award in 1988 as the nation's best linebacker.

Bottom Line: Bryant-Denny Stadium

We are in the midst of the greatest dynasty in college football history, and that's been going down over the last decade-plus at the University of Alabama, where head coach Nick Saban has led the Crimson Tide to six national championships since 2009.

Today, we would never think that Alabama could go anywhere else to play its home games. But from the 1920s through the 1980s, most of Alabama's "premiere" home games were played at Birmingham's Legion Field, which had a seating capacity of almost 20,000 more than could see a game in Tuscaloosa.

Once Bryant-Denny increased how many people it could hold, Alabama no longer had to leave Tuscaloosa for a home game.

7. Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium

Capacity: 100,119

School: University of Texas

Location: Austin, Texas

Opened: 1924

National championships: 4 (1963, 1969, 1970, 2005)

Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium GOAT: Vince Young

The best player in the greatest game in college football history was Texas quarterback Vince Young, a Houston native who led the Longhorns to a win over USC in the 2006 BCS national championship game.

Young went 30-2 as a starter for the Longhorns and was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2005.

Bottom Line: Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium

The University of Texas has one of the greatest home-field advantages in college football history. Since opening its doors in 1924, the Longhorns have got a winning percentage that hovers around 80 percent.

Named in part after its legendary head coach, Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium is in the top 10 stadiums in the entire world as far as seating capacity.

Expectations for college football programs don't come much higher than they do at Texas, where the 'Horns haven't won a national title since 2005 and are set to join the SEC alongside fellow Big 12 standout Oklahoma in the next few years.

6. Tiger Stadium

Capacity: 102,321

School: Louisiana State University

Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Opened: 1924

National championships: 4 (1958, 2003, 2007, 2019)

Tiger Stadium GOAT: Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow put together arguably the greatest season of any quarterback in college football history in 2019, when he threw for almost 6,000 yards, set an NCAA record with 60 touchdown passes and won the Heisman Trophy.

Burrow and the Tigers went 15-0 and won the College Football Playoff championship in the process.

Bottom Line: Tiger Stadium

Tiger Stadium is a far cry from its humble beginnings, when it opened with a seating capacity of just 12,000 in 1924.

Legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant, who went 14-2 at Tiger Stadium, probably best described the experience of playing there. "Baton Rouge happens to be the worst place for a visiting team in the entire world," Bryant said. "It's like being inside of a beating drum."

Tiger Stadium got one of the coolest moments in its history in 2019 on Senior Day, when Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow came out with a specially-made "Burreaux" nameplate on the back of his jersey.

5. Neyland Stadium

Capacity: 102,455

School: University of Tennessee

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Opened: 1921

National championships: 6 (1938, 1940, 1950, 1951, 1967, 1998)

Neyland Stadium GOAT: Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning brought the national spotlight back to the University of Tennessee after he surprised recruiting experts everywhere by picking the Vols over Ole Miss, where his father was a star quarterback.

Manning was a four-year starter for Tennessee and had more victories in his time there than any quarterback in SEC history. He won 39 of 45 games.

Bottom Line: Neyland Stadium

Robert Neyland had three separate stints as Tennessee's football coach from 1926 to 1952 and is responsible for four of the school's six national championships — the type of accomplishments that get you a stadium named in your honor.

Like Ohio Stadium, Neyland Stadium reduced its capacity by approximately 2,000 seats during a renovation. Longtime college football fans know there was nowhere tougher to get a win than at Neyland Stadium in the late 1990s and early 2000s following the school winning a national championship in 1998.

Here's the problem. Tennessee hasn't won an outright SEC championship since 1998, hasn't won a divisional championship since 2007 and has six losing seasons in the last decade. They're also on their fourth head coach in the last decade.

4. Kyle Field

Capacity: 102,733

School: Texas A&M University

Location: College Station, Texas

Opened: 1927

National championships: 3 (1919, 1927, 1939)

Kyle Field GOAT: Von Miller

Few players in NCAA history chased down quarterbacks with the ferocity of Von Miller, who had 27.5 sacks over his last two seasons at Texas A&M and was a two-time All-American.

Miller's junior season in 2009 should have put him in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy. He registered 17 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss and five pass deflections.

Bottom Line: Kyle Field

In the history of the SEC and the state of Texas — which is really saying something — the most people to ever go see a football game was in 2014, when Texas A&M hosted Ole Miss at Kyle Field in front of 110,633 people.

Kyle Field jumped past the 100,000 capacity mark in a big way that same year, when a renovation shot its capacity up over 20,000.

No fan base would likely be more appreciative of an ascension to the nation's elite than Texas A&M. The Aggies were 50-4-1 at home in the 1990s, including 31 straight wins from 1990 to 1995 and 22 straight wins from 1996 to 2000.

For the amount of money they're paying head coach Jimbo Fisher, who has a 10-year, $75 million contract, those type of expectations should be understandable.

3. Ohio Stadium

Capacity: 102,780

School: Ohio State University

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Opened: 1922

National championships: 8 (1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014)

Ohio Stadium GOAT: Archie Griffin

The easiest pick on this list, Ohio State running back Archie Griffin is the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in history.

Griffin was the first player to start in four Rose Bowls and was a three-time All-American.

Bottom Line: Ohio Stadium

Ohio Stadium is generally recognized by its nicknames — "The Horseshoe" or just "The Shoe" if you really know what's up.

Ohio State, unlike many of the other schools on this list, had a massive amount of seating from the moment it opened its doors in 1922 with a starting seating capacity of 66,000.

Ohio Stadium actually underwent a renovation in 2017 that reduced its seating capacity by 2,000 but was done in favor of aesthetics. What a stunning concept.

2. Beaver Stadium

Capacity: 106,572

School: Penn State University

Location: University Park, Pennsylvania

Opened: 1960

National championships: 2 (1982, 1986)

Beaver Stadium GOAT: Jack Ham

Penn State's Jack Ham should be in the conversation alongside Charles Woodson and just a few others when it comes to the greatest Big Ten defensive player of all time.

The Nittany Lions went undefeated twice with Ham, and he was an All-American in 1970.

Bottom Line: Beaver Stadium

Few spectacles in college football can compare to a whiteout at Penn State's home stadium — the fourth-largest stadium in the entire world with parts of its structure dating back to 1909.

One cool quirk about the time leading up to the opening of Beaver Stadium was that in the 1890s the school's football team just played its game on the Old Main lawn, the grassy area in front of the school's main building.

Since 1972, with Beaver Stadium's capacity around 57,000, the school has undertaken seven expansions to push it to its current capacity. Seems like a lot.

1. Michigan Stadium

Capacity: 107,601

School: University of Michigan

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Opened: 1927

National championships: 11 (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997)

Michigan Stadium GOAT: Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson did triple duty for the Michigan Wolverines in 1997 on the way to leading them to the national championship as a star defensive back, punt returner and even catching passes.

He also became the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy.

Bottom Line: Michigan Stadium

Stunning in its grandeur, Michigan Stadium is not just the largest in the United States. It's the largest in the entire Western Hemisphere and the third-largest stadium in the world. Michigan's 2013 game against Notre Dame set the college football attendance record with 115,000 fans.

The new tradition that we love at The Big House is Michigan fans singing along with The Killers song "Mr. Brightside," and when they cut out the music for a few bars at the end and the crowd takes over ... wow.

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