The 25 Coolest College Football Stadiums

You know we love the NFL (and you know we know who loves NFL players). But we're college football fans, too, and quiet as kept, we might actually have more fun going to college games than NFL ones. They're usually cheaper, there's more girls with painted midriffs than dudes with bulging stomachs, and the atmosphere is a little more "Ra ra!" than "Brady sucks!"

And for the most part, the stadiums are cooler too. NFL stadiums tend to be hulking monoliths that cater more to luxury suite-holders than fans. College stadiums are quirkier, often with the classic "bowl" construction that doesn't do much for sightlines, but looks cool as hell. So with the season entering its second week, we're looking at the 25 Coolest College Football Stadiums...

Team: Washington Huskies
Address: 3800 Montlake Blvd. NE
City: Seattle, Wash.
Year Opened: 1920

Ever sailgated? With a location overlooking Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains, Husky Stadium is the best place in the country to get your nautical pre-gaming on. Drink beer and fish before a big game? We're all for it (bring your own ginger pills if you get queasy).

Team: Florida State Seminoles
Address: Champions Way & Hendry St.
City: Tallahassee, Fla.
Year Opened: 1950

Known as "The Doak," Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium is one of the best in all the land. It's the 14th largest stadium in the country, with well over 82,000 Tomahawk-chopping and war-chanting fans putting the fear of God into the opposing team. It's also considered to have the best trio of statues outside, with Chief Osceola and Renegade, Sportsmanship, and Bobby Bowden standing tall and still.

Team: UTEP Fighting Miners
Address: 4150 Pinnacle St.
City: El Paso, Texas
Year Opened: 1963

Honestly, Sun Bowl stadium offers the most gorgeous view in all of college football, with the Franklin Mountains off in the distance making for a spectacular, painted sunset. With a seating capacity of 51,000, it's not the biggest but Miner fans are some of the wildest. The stadium sits less than half a mile from the Rio Grande River and the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez; for your safety we advise you stay on American soil. The city is not to be trifled with, and we're not talking in the way you don't want to fuck with a football team. Seriously.

Team: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Address: West Hall of Fame Ave. & Hester St.
City: Stillwater, Okla.
Year Opened: 1920

BMF, Cowboy! "The Boone," that's the nickname. With three cup holders in front of every seat, more leg room, and a TV that plays Barry Sanders highlights, this stadium is the Maybach of college football stadiums. Ungh!

Team: Florida Gators
Address: University Ave. & Gale Lemerand Dr.
City: Gainesville, Fla.
Year Opened: 1930

Being at the Swamp means you either Gator Chomp or get caught in the marsh (or the sinkhole—the stadium is built on one). Many opposing teams and fans have been eaten alive here, never to see victory again. Field temperatures often exceed 100 degrees, which is why Gatorade was created. No other stadium can claim such a lucrative accomplishment.

Team: Harvard Crimson
Address: 95 Harvard St.
City: Boston, Mass.
Year Built: 1903

The University is home to some of the best and brightest, so it only makes sense that this is the first ever horseshoe designed stadium. Word on the yard is that Mark Zuckerburg is planning T. Boone Pickens-like renovations for 2022. Expect to see touchscreen end zones, like and dislike buttons for referee calls, and live status updates from players after each play streams live through your soft drink.

Team: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Address: 600 Stadium Dr.
City: Lincoln, Neb.
Year Opened: 1923

You'll be hard pressed to find a stadium with more tradition. 81,000+ fans are dressed to the nines in red, earning the nickname the Sea of Red. In '99, it became one of the first stadiums to install field turf. What's truly special: How the stadium seems to move with every Nebraska road game. With a home like this, you'd think there'd be no reason to leave, but Husker Nation does. Salute to the best traveling fans in the country.

Team: Colorado Buffaloes
Address: 2400 Colorado Ave.
City: Boulder, Colo.
Year Opened: 1924

Buffalos don't roam, they charge and win like Sallie Mae, especially on Folsom Field. It's one of the most unique horseshoe stadiums, with a breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. At Folsom, you'll feel like you're in your mom's living room. In '08 the stadium went "zero-waste," making it one of the cleanest ever.

Team: UCLA Bruins
Address: 1001 Rose Bowl Dr.
City: Pasadena, Calif.
Year Opened: 1922

Olympics, World Cup Finals, Depeche Mode concerts, the Rose Bowl has seen it all. But it's most famous for a game that's played there every New Year's Day. The name of that game escapes us now, but it'll come to us. Fans have to sign waivers to watch the Bruins on Saturdays because "Rose Bowl Rubbernecking" incidents occur every year. Hot chicks, cool mountains, and football. Keep your head on a swivel at your own risk.

Team: Ohio State Buckeyes
Address: 411 Woody Hayes Dr.
City: Columbus, Ohio
Year Opened: 1922

For THE Ohio State Buckeyes, home is the Horseshoe, one of the few stadiums in the country with no field lights. It seats over 106,000 in a stadium that's seen more W's than Wilt Chamberlain and the West Coast put together.

Team: Wisconsin Badgers
Address: 1440 Monroe St.
City: Madison, Wis.
Year Opened: 1917

Americans love football and college kids love to party, so what happens when the Wisconsin Badgers take the field on Saturdays? All of the fans "Party the Red Sea," especially between the third and fourth quarters when House of Pain's "Jump Around" blasts through the PA system. History has found a place for rapping Irishmen. Unsurprisingly, they lucked out.

Team: Virginia Tech Hokies
Address: Stadium & Spring Rd.
City: Blacksburg, Va.
Year Opened: 1965

Virgina Tech made Thursday night college football cool. Exit light, enter night and watch the Hokies charge the field as Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blasts throughout the stadium. Their entrance alone has had teams defeated before the game begins and has sent chills through a dead man's bones.

Team: BYU Cougars
Address: 1700 North Canyon Rd.
City: Provo, Utah
Year Opened: 1964

You'd think that watching a game with sober Mormons, you'd be able to hear the quarterback call the plays in the huddle. Naw, homie; these Latter Day Saints break all kinds of noise violation sins when the Cougars are balling, all while having one of the best views in the country. What else but the Rocky Mountains?

Team: Boise State Broncos
Address: 1400 Bronco Lane
City: Boise, Idaho
Year Opened: 1970

They've got a blue field that has just as much power as that little blue pill. It turns Boise State's two- and three-star recruits into top-flight players, into five-star BCS studs that you can't see coming. The blue-on-blue (uniform, field) gave the team a tremendous advantage, which is why the NCAA now mandates that Boise State can't wear their home-field blue jerseys on the turf anymore. Credit BSU Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier for that striking turf; he figured if he was going to spend $750,000 on a new field it might as well be flashy. No mundane green here. Since 1986, it's been nothing but blue.

Team: Georgia Bulldogs
Address: 110 Field St.
City: Athens, Ga.
Year Opened: 1929

Football is best served Southern fried. The hedges around this stadium, one of the ten largest in the country, are just about as pretty as the chicks on campus. There are enough big screens here to make the Jerry's World screens jealous. When opposing teams are in town, they feel like they're walking through a dark and terrifying valley when they're Between the Hedges.

Team: Oregon Ducks
Address: 2727 Leo Harris Parkway
City: Eugene, Ore.
Year Opened: 1967

Take a rock concert, a fashion show, and an arena league football game and what do you have? The Oregon Ducks. The field is sunken and fans are right on top of your ass, so good luck hearing. With Phil Knight on the Ducks' side, always sporting the best Nike uniforms, how could this team ever look lame? And have you seen the Ducks' offense? Before Chip Kelly is done, he will hang a hundred on a team, just watch.

Team: LSU Tigers
Address: 399 West Stadium Rd.
City: Baton Rouge, La.
Year Opened: 1924

Hands down the best place to watch a night game in college football. "Deaf Valley" was incorrectly corrected to "Death Valley," but we do shit the right way here. At Deaf Valley, the volume reaches 130 decibels on the regular and the opponents can't hear a thing but "Tiger Bait" chants.

Team: Tennessee Volunteers
Address: 1235 Phillip Fulmer Way
City: Knoxville, Tenn.
Year Opened: 1921

At Neyland, the Vols' winning percentage is .789. Basically, it's really hard to win at One Cheek unless you're Tennessee, which is just how the fans and players like it. Get your lemon juice, breath mints, and vocal chords ready, because you'll be singing "Rocky Top" after each touchdown. No stadium in the country boasts greater camaraderie amongst the fans.

Team: Penn State Nittany Lions
Address: University Dr. & East Park Ave.
City: University Park, Pa.
Year Opened: 1960

Beaver Stadium seats just over 106K fans and was voted the best student section in the country. It's also the fourth largest stadium in the world and the first to have its interior made available on Google Street View. Zombie Nation and the Whiteout games make this one of the most exciting places to catch a game. And then there's the fact that Joe Paterno, the eternal head coach, will almost certainly die on the field in what will be the most epic/tragic moment in sports history.

Team: Clemson Tigers
Address: Avenue of Champions
City: Clemson, S.C.
Year Opened: 1942

The Clemson Tigers' "Run Down the Hill" into Death Valley Stadium has been called The Most Exciting 25 Seconds in College Football. The University cemetery is a Howard Rock stone's throw away. The rock was a gift to head coach Frank Howard. He had someone get rid of it after a few years; it was relocated to the endzone and hasn't moved since. Dealing with rabid fans at other schools is one thing, but Tiger spirit is quite another. Teams lose on purpose because they know better than to walk out of this stadium with a victory.

Team: USC Trojans
Address: 3911 South Figueroa St.
City: Los Angeles
Year Opened: 1923

Rome wasn't built in a day, but the minute the L.A. Coliseum was built, its ground was hallowed by great USC athletes. It's the only stadium on this list that's hosted an Olympic Opening Ceremony (it's actually done that twice). Oh, and just to be sure, it's also a historic landmark. The only undesirable thing about the stadium is its location: the heart of South Central L.A. Keep your head on a swivel walking to your car.

Team: Alabama Crimson Tide
Address: 920 Paul W. Bryant Dr.
City: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Year Opened: 1929

Wu-Tang fans, Dipset fans and Odd Future fans look like bandwagon bitches compared to Alabama fans. The house that Bear Bryant built never sees an empty seat on a Saturday. With seating over 101K, it's the second largest stadium in the SEC. Good luck winning here—the visitor's locker room is known as "The Fail Room" because booster James M. Fail gave graciously to the school and demanded the visitors locker room be named after him. That man knew exactly what he was doing.

Team: Michigan Wolverines
Address: 1201 South Main St.
City: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Year Opened: 1927

The don't call this football shrine "The Big House" for nothing. This stadium has seen enough big plays to make Canton jealous, the two biggest being Desmond Howard's punt return in '91 and Charles Woodson's in '97. The stadium seats 113K. The total population of the city of Ann Arbor is 114K. Think about it.

Team: Texas A&M Aggies
Address: 198 Joe Routt Blvd.
City: College Station, Texas
Year Opened: 1927

This place has more rituals than the Old Testament and the fans, who are collectively referred to as the 12th man, are just fine with that. A bonfire the night before a game, the sound of 80,000 people hissing, and kissing your boo after every touchdown. No such thing as cheerleaders here, only yell leaders. When they break out the Aggie War Hymn, everyone and everything starts swaying side to side, including the stadium. Like really though.

Team: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Address: 113 Joyce Center
City: Notre Dame, Ind.
Year Opened: 1930

Love 'em or hate 'em, but you don't get any more college football than Notre Dame, and you can't find a better place to watch a college football game than Notre Dame Stadium. Designed by the same firm that drew up Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium (how's that for a resume?), Notre Dame Stadium is simple pigskin elegance defined: field, bowl, Touchdown Jesus. Nine of their 11 national title teams have called this stadium home. All seven Notre Dame Heisman winners have made gold helmets shine bright on this field.