College football's 25 biggest stadiums by capacity for 2021

Williams-Brice Stadium — 77,559

It's not like we are counting, but there will have been 644 days since the last time Williams-Brice Stadium could welcome home 77,559 screaming Gamecock fans this Saturday. That's when Carolina opens the 2021 season at home against Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. ET. There has been a lot of changes and upgrades to venue since the end of the 2019 season as well as game day operational changes due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gamecock fans will be able to enjoy a new $2.4 million video board installed by ANC, a leading sports marketing and signage company. The new board will be nearly twice as sharp than the previous board. 

Notre Dame Stadium — 77,622

Replacing Cartier Field, the stadium opened its gates on Oct. 4, 1930, with a win over SMU. The total cost of construction exceeded $750,000 and the original seating capacity was 54,000. Head coach Knute Rockne played a key role in its design, keeping the space between the playing field and the stands to a minimum. It is patterned, on a smaller scale, after Michigan Stadium, the main difference being the tunnel location. In 1929, plans were started by Osborn Engineering of Cleveland, selected for their experience in designing Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. The original stadium seated 59,075, measured a half-mile (800 m) in circumference, stood 45 feet (14 meters) high, and featured a glass-enclosed press box rising 60 feet (18 m) above ground level. Initial stands reached 55 rows.

Doak Campbell Stadium — 79,560

Opened in 1950, it was originally named Doak Campbell Stadium in honor of Doak S. Campbell, the university's first president. On Nov. 20, 2004, the Florida Legislature added longtime head football coach Bobby Bowden to the stadium name to become Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. It is the largest continuous brick structure in the United States. The brick facade surrounding the stadium matches the architectural design of most of the buildings on the university's campus. In addition to the obvious recreational uses, The University Center surrounds the stadium and houses many of the university's offices. The field was officially named Bobby Bowden field on Nov. 20, 2004 as Florida State hosted intrastate rival Florida.

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium — 80,000

The home of Arkansas football since 1938 joined the club of stadiums to hold 80,000 ore more following $160 million in renovations that took place during the 2017 season. The expansion included a complete redesign of the north end zone, with the updated club seating pictured above. In the bigger picture, the stadium now holds roughly 30,000 more spectators for football games than it did in 2000. With Sam Pittman getting the Razorbacks to a trio of SEC wins in 2020 after the program failed to beat at SEC opponent in both 2018 and 2020, the second-year Razorbacks coach can expect the most enthusiastic crowd in Fayetteville in several years this fall when you combine his efforts with the return of full capacity to the stadium. 

Camp Randall Stadium — 80,321

The stadium lies on the grounds of Camp Randall, a Union Army training camp during the Civil War. The camp was named after then Governor Alexander Randall, who later became Postmaster General of the United States. The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university. In 2002, a large-scale reconstruction project commenced, which added luxury boxes, a five-story office building, and separate football program offices. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. The construction was completed prior to the start of the 2004 season. Announced in the fall of 2010 and completed in January 2014, the Student Athlete Performance Center, an expansion of Camp Randall to the north, included a new scoreboard, academic and strength training facilities, multimedia instructional space, lower-level football team access tunnel, and renovated locker rooms, shower rooms and equipment space.

Memorial Stadium — 81,500

The original 20,500-seat stadium — the lower half of the current facility's south grandstand — was constructed for $125,000. On Sept. 19, 1942, Memorial Stadium was opened with a 32-13 victory over Presbyterian College. The nickname "Death Valley" for Memorial Stadium, derives both from Death Valley National Park in California as well as the location of the Clemson University cemetery on a hill that once overlooked the field — before the upper decks were constructed. Probably the most highly publicized tradition of Clemson football is its dramatic entrance scene. The tradition of Running Down the Hill started when the football locker rooms were located in Fike Field House. Today, after exiting the stadium on the west side, the players load into buses, escorted by police officers. They make their way around the stadium to the east side where The Hill is located. This scene has been shown on the JumboTron ever since it was installed in the stadium. When the buses arrive at the east side, the players get out and gather at the top of the hill and stand around Howard's Rock.

Memorial Stadium — 86,047

Memorial Stadium was built in 1923 at a cost of $450,000 with a capacity of 31,080. The first game at the new stadium was a 24-0 Nebraska victory over Oklahoma on October 13, 1923. A series of expansions has brought the stadium's current capacity, but attendance numbers regularly exceed 90,000. When full, Memorial Stadium famously holds more people than the population of Nebraska's third-largest city, Bellevue. A statue of former head coach Tom Osborne and former quarterback Brook Berringer can be found at the main entrance of the Osborne Athletic Complex on the north side of the stadium. Berringer, a native Nebraskan and backup quarterback on Nebraska's 1994 and 1995 national championship-winning teams, died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996, just two days before the 1996 NFL Draft, where he was projected to be an early-to-mid-round pick.

Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium — 86,122

The stadium is a bowl-shaped facility with its long axis oriented north/south, with both the north and south ends enclosed. The south end has only been enclosed since the 2015-16 offseason, when it was renovated as part of a $160 million project. The first game played at the current stadium site was in 1923, with the Sooners prevailing over Washington University 62-7. Originally, seating consisted of an approximately 500-seat bleacher area on the east side. The first permanent seating wasn't built until 1925, when 16,000 seats were built on the west side of the site — corresponding to the lower level of the current facility's west grandstands. However, OU reckons 1923 as the stadium's opening date. The new stadium was named Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in honor of university students and personnel that died during World War I. The facility was constructed at an approximate cost of $293,000, and coach Bennie Owen himself helped raise the money.

Jordan-Hare Stadium — 87,451

Before 1939, Auburn played its home games at Drake Field, a bare-bones facility seating only 700 people in temporary bleachers. As Auburn became more accessible and the stadium expanded in capacity, more games were moved to Jordan–Hare Stadium. By the 1980s, Alabama was Auburn's last major rival to have yet to play a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The yearly Iron Bowl clash between Alabama and Auburn had been played at Legion Field since it was renewed on a permanent basis in 1948. In 2015, Auburn considered a complete reconstruction of the north end-zone section of Jordan-Hare which would have included new premium club seating and lounges, as well as establishing a new home locker room to replace the existing factility in the south end zone. The cost of this project was estimated at $145 million. After surveying donors and the general fanbase, the university did not move forward with those plans and decided instead to build a $28 million gameday support factility in the southwest corner of the stadium.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — 88,548

Popularly known as "The Swamp,” was originally known as Florida Field when it opened as a 22,000 seat facility in 1930, and it has been expanded and renovated many times over the ensuing decades. The name of the facility was simply "Florida Field" from its opening in 1930 until 1989, when the university renamed the stadium in honor of citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin Jr., an alumnus and major benefactor of the university and its sports programs. However, the playing surface remained "Florida Field," and the facility's full name was "Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field" from 1990 until 2016. On Sept. 3, 2016, the playing surface was renamed in honor of former Florida quarterback and head coach Steve Spurrier. As UF athletic director Jeremy Foley explained, "Coach Spurrier did more than win a Heisman Trophy, a national championship, and a bunch of games. Coach Spurrier changed the culture of Florida Athletics." The nickname of “The Swamp” was coined by Spurrier in 1992. As he explained at the time, "A swamp is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. We feel like it's an appropriate nickname for our stadium.”

Rose Bowl — 90,000

The Rose Bowl stadium has been the home football field for UCLA since 1982. The UCLA Bruins had played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1928. There was an attempt to build a 44,000-seat stadium on campus, at the site where the track complex Drake Stadium eventually was built. However, the proposal was blocked by influential area residents, as well as some politicians. In the first rivalry game at the stadium between UCLA and USC in 1982, USC fans sat on the west side of the stadium and UCLA fans sat on the east side of the stadium, mirroring an arrangement that existed when the teams shared the Coliseum. The stadium and adjacent Brookside Golf and Country Club are owned by the city of Pasadena and managed by the Rose Bowl Operating Company, a non-profit organization whose board is selected by council members of the city of Pasadena. UCLA and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses also have one member on the company board. 

Sanford Stadium — 92,746

Games played there are said to be played "between the hedges" due to the field being surrounded by privet hedges, which have been a part of the design of the stadium since it opened in 1929. The current hedges were planted in 1996 after the originals were taken out to accommodate the soccer tournament for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The stadium is named for Dr. Steadman Vincent Sanford, an early major force behind UGA athletics. In 1911, he moved the university's football venue from its first location, Herty Field, to a location at the center of campus which was named Sanford Field in his honor. On Feb. 14, 2017, the UGA Athletic Board approved a $63 million expansion to renovate the west side of the stadium. The approved design relocated the locker room from the east side to the west side and added a new plaza and recruiting pavilion. Construction began following the 2017 season and was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 31, 2018, a day before Georgia's first home game of the 2018 season.

Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium — 100,119

DKR, located on campus, has been home to the Longhorns football team since 1924. The University of Texas honored legendary football coach Darrell K Royal, who enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1943, played at the University of Oklahoma under legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson, and who led Texas to three national championships and eleven Southwest Conference titles, by officially naming the stadium after him in 1996. In 2006, a 7,370-square-foot HD Daktronics LED scoreboard, nicknamed "Godzillatron," located in the south end zone, was installed as the centerpiece of $8 million worth of audio/visual improvements. Last year, in response to calls for increased diversity at the university and at the suggestion of the Jamail family, president Jay Hartzell announced that the field, previously named for Joe Jamail, would be renamed to honor Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. Hartzell also announced that a statue of Julius Whittier, the school's first Black football letterman, would be erected at the stadium.

Bryant-Denny Stadium — 101,821

Opened in 1929, it was originally named Denny Stadium in honor of George H. Denny, the school's president from 1912 to 1932. In 1975, the state legislature added longtime head coach and alumnus Paul "Bear" Bryant to the stadium's name. Before the 1937 season, permanent seats were built along the east sideline, increasing the capacity to 24,000. Following a number of renovations through the years, an upper deck was added to the west side in 1988 and raised the seating by nearly 10,000 to 70,123. During the construction, the Crimson Tide played its entire 1987 home schedule at Legion Field in Birmingham, 57 miles northeast of Bryant-Denny. As part of a larger, 10-year $600 million plan to upgrade campus athletic facilities, the University is planning $92.5 million in upgrades to the stadium, including new social spaces, improved circulation, additional premium seating and upgraded spaces for athletes and recruits. The Walk of Champions will be extended into a new game day locker room via a new tunnel clad with video boards. The project will be funded with $48.4 million in bonds and $35 million from the Crimson Tide Foundation, the fundraising arm of UA athletics. Construction began shortly after the 2019 season.

Tiger Stadium — 102,321

Tiger Stadium opened with a capacity of 12,000 in 1924. Despite being 14-2 at Tiger Stadium, famed Alabama head coach Bear Bryant once remarked that "Baton Rouge happens to be the worst place in the world for a visiting team. It's like being inside a drum." On April 27, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of an $80 million south end-zone upper deck expansion that added 70 "Tiger Den" suites, over 3,000 club seats and 1,500+ general public seats to bring the total capacity of Tiger Stadium to 102,321. Construction began on Oct. 17, 2012, and was completed by the summer of 2014. Survey after survey has concluded that Tiger Stadium is the most difficult place for a visiting team to play, including surveys by the College Football Association in 1987, The Sporting News in 1989, Gannett News Service in 1995, and Sport Magazine in 1998. More recently, in 2007, ESPN named Tiger Stadium "the scariest place to play", saying that "Tiger Stadium is, by far, the loudest stadium in the country."

Neyland Stadium — 102,455

Constructed in 1921 as Shields-Watkins Field (which is now the name of the playing surface), the stadium has undergone 16 expansion projects, at one point reaching a capacity of 104,079 before being slightly reduced by alterations in the following decade. The stadium is named for Robert Neyland, who served three stints as head football coach at the University of Tennessee between 1926 and 1952. The latest additions and updates to the facility were part of a $136.4 million series of renovations, beginning in 2004 and completed by 2010. They included the bricking around the field and the removal of the previous hedges, numerous changes to the inside and outside of the stadium structure, additions and reconfigurations of seating areas, as well as new home locker, press, and varsity rooms.

Kyle Field — 102,733

Kyle Field has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent concrete stadium since 1927. On May 1, 2013, the Texas A&M Board of Regents approved a $485 million rebuild of Kyle Field. The renovation would temporarily raise the official seating capacity to 106,511 people for the 2014 season, making it the largest football stadium in Texas and the SEC (surpassing Neyland Stadium by 57 seats) and the third largest football stadium in the country. The renovation was done in two distinct phases geared around the football season, and began immediately after the conclusion of the final 2013 season game in November with the implosion of the student section side. The stadium renovation was complete by the beginning of the 2015 season bringing the official capacity to 102,733. Kyle Field has at times been regarded as one of the most intimidating college football stadiums in the nation by various media outlets. Contributing to its reputation in the 1990s, Texas A&M boasted one of the nation's best home records at 55-4-1, including 31 straight wins at Kyle Field from 1990 to 1995 and 22 straight from 1996 to 2000.

Ohio Stadium — 102,780

The stadium opened in 1922 as a replacement for Ohio Field and had a seating capacity of 66,210. In 1923, a cinder running track was added that was later upgraded to an all-weather track. Seating capacity gradually increased over the years and reached a total of 91,470 possible spectators in 1991. In 2014, additional seating was added in the end zone, raising the official capacity to 104,944. Another renovation to add more luxury suites began in 2017 and eventually lead to a decrease of 2,600 seats. Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Ohio Stadium second in atmosphere in 2002, behind the Army-Navy Game, and quoted Beano Cook in saying "There is nothing that beats when the Ohio State Marching Band and the sousaphone player dots the 'i' for Script Ohio." The crowd attending these home games is known for creating harsh and difficult environments for opponents.

Beaver Stadium — 106,572

Beaver Stadium has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. In 2016, Beaver Stadium was voted the number-one football stadium in college football in a USA Today poll, garnering over 41 percent of the vote. In 2002, Penn State set an NCAA record for most fans to ever watch a college football team over the course of a single season at home. Beaver Stadium hosted 8 games in 2002, and averaged 107,239 per game totaling what was at the time an NCAA record of 857,911 in total home attendance. Penn State averaged 95,977 fans in attendance both home and away over the 13 game schedule which broke the all time full season attendance NCAA record at 1,247,707 spectators over the course of the 2002 campaign.

Michigan Stadium — 107,601

Nicknamed "The Big House,” Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Not counting the 2020 pandemic season, every home game since Nov. 8, 1975 has drawn a crowd in excess of 100,000, an active streak of more than 200 contests. Michigan Stadium was designed with footings to allow the stadium's capacity to be expanded beyond 100,000. Former coach Fielding Yost envisioned a day where 150,000 seats would be needed. On June 21, 2007, the University's Board of Regents approved a $226 million renovation and expansion project for Michigan Stadium. The project included replacement of some bleachers, widening of aisles and individual seats, installing hand rails, and the addition of a new press box, 83 luxury boxes, and 3,200 club seats. Michigan Stadium's size is not wholly apparent from the outside as most of the seats are below ground level.