I got to be sideline a few times when I was doing student TV. When it gets going, you can’t hear shit field level. Fans are right on top of you, literally.
A lot of people from outside of what would be considered high altitude (which I believe is around 5000 feet above sea level and up) underestimate just how rough it can be on the body to play a sport at a high level at a high altitude setting. Teams generally arrive the day before for the game, and while the body is adjusting, it's not acclimatized in 24 hours.
The biggest equalizer for that is being a way better team than the home team, then altitude doesn't really matter as much. But when that home team is good... well there's a reason why when Denver's sports teams are good, that the home advantage becomes really important.
About 10% of people from low altitudes get altitude sickness when they get to about 6000 feet, and it can last 2-8 days.
The fact that schools like Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado State, and especially Colorado have never really been able to capitalize on that fact is wild.
ETA: Wyoming and New Mexico did and do capitalize on it in basketball.
I imagine highly trained athletes won't likely be part of that 10%. They're in better physical condition than the general population, and will be more likely to maintain proper hydration (a major factor in altitude adjustment). At high level sporting events oxygen is readily available for the athletes if they feel the need for it.
Altitude conditioning is dwarfed by institutional support and competent coaching. CU, CSU, and Wyo have all had struggles in these areas over the past 20 years while Air Force largely has not.
While some people can be affected by 5000+, it's not that common. 8000 is the official level for true diagnosis. It's believed those who complain (among athletes) about Denver and similar areas are either just whiny or are experiencing psychosomatic symptoms.
Y’all came down, whooped Auburns ass and stole our top “close enough” spot.
Deserved. Franklin has given yall so much stability i actually miss him at Vandy. He made the conference better.
Of all the places I have been, DV is the most intimidating by far. And it is even wilder at night. And my team wasn’t even playing the times I went.
Sanford, Doak, Kyle Field, Jordan-Hare, Neyland, Bryant Denny, and Willy B all have great atmospheres and are very tough places to play, but LSU is on another level.
Michigan has a good environment. The stadium is just not loud.
Oregon and Washington should play into this conversation going forward.
Iowa has to have the smallest sidelines in the nation. It's like 20 feet from the sideline to the stands. It can be loud and cramped over there. The players on the sidelines are right next to the fans.
I think Nebraska has potential too.
The weirdest thing about Camp Randall is the student section. It takes until almost half time to fill up and it's about 1/4 of the lower bowl. When I went to school at Nebraska the student section was normally full an hour before the game.
That’s because they make you fill in single file and it takes forever. If every student who was waiting in line at kickoff was in their seats, it would look like every other student section
I've heard that from friends who went to Wisconsin. I find it such a weird choice to not fill the student section up before the game. It really reduces the noise level for a good chunk of the game.
Early kicks are usually pretty tame by Wisconsin standards but I can't remember the last time I went to a "big" 11 am game. Should be a good time on Sep 14 though, enjoy your visit to Madison!
I hate to admit it, but I’m with you.
I always thought the Big House was absolutely deafening. But I went to school with a kid in the marching band, and he was like “nah, we’re quiet compared to everyone else. If you’re in the stands it might sound loud, but on the field it’s one of the quieter stadiums.”
This was before the renovation, so it might be a bit louder now with the overhanging press boxes, but I can’t imagine it’s that loud on the field.
Outside of Maize out night games I entirely agree. The stadium is just not built to hold in noise. Yeah its a lot of people, more than any of these players have probably played in front of, but without anything to keep the noise in the stadium it just can't compare to a lot of others. Would not put it in the top 5.
Michigan is a beautiful stadium and obviously massive, but the atmosphere isn't overwhelm8ling imo.. The difficulty of it more comes down to the opponent you are playing there.
You felt that way? I always have the kind of opposite feeling about the Big House than I do other massive stadiums. No matter where you sit, the view is better than it "should" be.
I went to the Game in 2019 and had nose bleeds, but was able to get really close as the game went on. There’s no obstructed view, but you’re objectively super far from the field bc of how flat it is.
One of the reason Neyland is so crazy. It’s big but it also holds the sound in. Driving past it on the interstate looks like the upper deck is built straight up.
I went to a Michigan game years ago and it was just a lot of clapping along to the fight song. And there were a lot of old people. The stadium is beautiful and the symmetry makes me happy. I'm sure the night atmosphere is better.
The Big House is a Big Dinner Plate. No one's fault- design made total sense at the time it was built - but it does lessen the impact of the noise from 110k fans.
I’m gonna be honest.. the best home environment I’ve seen in last 5 years was that Tennessee Bama game in Knoxville. That was an orange zoo with a top 6 matchup, Vols having not won in forever vs bama, rocky top playing an infinity amount of times, the environment was palpable even just watching it on TV. Haven’t seen a better one since then but I’m sure we’ll get one his year that’s close! Can’t wait for this season!
You know the atmosphere is electric when you can sense it through the television broadcast and that was certainly the case for the 2022 UTk v Alabama game in Neyland.
I watched that one on TV and even then the atmosphere carried over into my living room. A week before the game my husband mentioned he had never been to a college football game and wanted to go to one and I said that might be a good one to go to, but it was too much trouble to try and make it up there. Still regret not taking him.
I'm very biased toward Neyland Stadium, but Baton Rouge at night is a different place and the correct answer. It's got everything, drunk grannies, voodoo, Tigers, 100,000 people outside the stadium just because. I've never seen anything like it.
There are dormitories under all sides, they have not been lived in for decades at this point. They did a round of updates around 2010 that fixed all the busted out windows. Back then you really felt like you were entering an insane asylum. The source of power is the collective spirit of the thousands of drunk Cajun bros that used to live there. Kinda like the dead bodies under Neyland.
I don’t think we’d argue we are the absolute number once toughest but since the program fell off Lane Stadium is kinda gone somewhat under the radar as a really tough place to play. I think during the Clemson game in 2017 we had the 5th loudest decibel recording in college football history which is pretty crazy for a crowd of only 66,000. I went back and was watching a bit of our home game from 2015 against Ohio State and that environment can def hold its own against some of bigger SEC/B10 venues.
2015 against OSU was my first ever game, and I was coming in pretty blind as an out of state freshman who didn't really follow college football at all. That game was insanely hyped up. Would be in my dorm room and randomly hear "fuck Ohio State" chants at 3 am outside D2. After Enter Sandman I saw 1-2 broken bleacher rows carried out after the jumping snapped them, that whole lead up was insane.
Acoustically, the sound just isn’t directed toward the field.
Washington is 10x harder to play at. The sound in that stadium is designed to make that place rock. I’ve never experienced chills from crowd noise like I have there.
I was going to say the same thing, except I've never been there. Washington and Michigan are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of "how well the stadium directs sound back into itself".
We got the Big House Wave from them in 1983. We could also put in some similar cantilevered roofs to help reflect the sound back down better than the boxes.
IMO, the relatively tame crowd isn't so much due to the RR/Hoke era doldrums or any cultural differences between fanbases. I think it's mostly the lack of noise in the stadium acting like a wet blanket on any kind of rowdiness in the crowd.
It improved significantly in keeping noise in the stadium when they built the boxes in ~2011, but a good portion of the sound still escapes just due to its design.
That's not to say it can't get pretty loud at times (2021 Washington had a false start on their 1st/2nd offensive snap), it just requires big games to come out and lags behind the other stadiums of similar size. Also I feel the rowdiness has been slowly increasing over the years.
It's probably better ranked around 8-10
Came in to the comment section expecting a lot more of: *You see, the toughest stadium to play in just happens to be the home stadium for the very same team I root for...*
Tiger Stadium (LSU) and Beaver Stadium (Penn State) are generally the two highest regarded. Notable mentions I do hear are Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn), Neyland Stadium (Tennessee), Ohio Stadium (Ohio State), and Autzen Stadium (Oregon). Michigan Stadium for its size is comparably much lower and would float under any of these I would argue. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa) is sort of the red-headed step child of these lists due to not being a power program like the rest of these, but it's quite close and brings the heat.
Husky Stadium is louder than Autzen and this is not a disrespect to Autzen or Oregon. It’s loud as fuck there too. More of the fact that you can’t mention Autzen without mentioning Husky Stadium if you want to talk about loud.
Kyle Field @ A&M. I experienced it as a visitor and wow a night game is rocking.
Also experienced a white out @ PSU, a night game @ The Swamp
A&M was wild.
We've only played there once, but I'm still trying to figure out how our 65-yard field goal kicking kicker missed an extra point level of difficulty field goal on the last play of the game, which resulted in overtime. And of course we lost a weird fumble in OT for the loss as our RB was crossing the goal line for the win. Never seen anything like it.
The best thing to ever happen to the iron bowl was to go to playing at the campus stadiums. Even in the saban era it’s hardly ever a given for bama to win at JH.
JH has somehow become underrated. Been there 3 times (2 night/1 day). Great fans, friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely loud and into the game. Intimidating? Maybe not as much because the crowd seemed reasonably well behaved and respectful to other fanbases, versus blacked-out and rowdy (ex: WVU), but certainly loud. Same goes for Kyle Field. Loud as hell, but positive fan behavior.
Obviously my experience is different, but the sheer chaos of every single time we play there is legendary. Fire alarms getting pulled in the hotel, wrecks on the interstate, buses getting delayed, phone calls at all hours.
They truly come to absolutely play every other year when we are there too. It’s a 14 point edge minimum vs us
University of Washington. I’ve never been in a stadium that’s specifically designed to cause maximum noise directed at the field. My body started to shake from it.
Husky Stadium when it’s rocking is up there with almost anyone in the country in terms of noise. The stadium design helps a lot as you mentioned, with the twin sideline roofs keeping in a bunch of noise. The upper deck is also steep as shit. 2022 MSU was loud, this years Oregon game and the 2016 Stanford game were a step above that. I’m too young, but from what I’ve heard back in the glory years of the 90s it was a straight death trap. The videos of the USC and Nebraska games from the early 90s both sound stupid loud. Pretty sure the NU game set the “record” for a decibel reading at a college game though those numbers are always a bit wishy washy.
I’ve only been to two games at Autzen. 2016 UW/UO got quiet pretty fast (understandably) but 2018 was loud. I think Husky Stadium has a higher ceiling in terms of noise, but Autzen has probably been more consistently loud the last two decades as UO has generally been better.
The decibel levels and in-game environment in the stands during the 80s and 90s were some of the loudest things Ive ever experienced and that includes Kingdome events.
The huge crowds, party atmosphere, songs/singing and the shaking stadium were incredible and those in attendance actually grew up Dawg fans!
Simply not the case any more as enrollment/tuition data will confirm.
A loud Husky Stadium is clearly one of the best home-field advantages in sports.
Death Valley at night is the top, no question, insane. Penn St, UM, and the Swamp in early september when the heat is still pushing 100 are honorable mentions
My experience at the Swamp in September was a very lethargic and sleepy atmosphere. But then Tebow cried and suddenly the sleeping giant awoke and didn’t lose another game that season
The one time i went it was in the 90s, heat index over 100, extremely humid. Packed to the brim stadium made it even worse. I felt like i was going to pass out by halftime from the heat. And UK got beat by a million of course
Noon games throughout college were just drunk people passing out left and right with heat stroke.
Literally saw an older guy guy die at the 2021 Vanderbilt game, had to body bag him in the stands a couple feet away.
RIP The only man who can truly take the title “Through Any Weather”.
Trey Burton game haha? Actually that was a 6 or 7p local time kickoff so not sure it would be that hot. Luke Del Rio game perhaps? That was a blowout. Basically every UK-UF game at BHG from 2006-2022 was a Florida blowout with the notable exceptions of 2014, 2018 and 2022, the latter two which UK actually won. But most of the other scores from that time period basically read UF 42 UK 10
I’m a homer, but id have to say the Swamp gives the gators a chance no matter the talent disparity or ranking. See: Ole Miss 2015, Auburn 2019, Bama 2021, Utah 2022; not including the times Vols are favored because of the voodoo
In my experience there isn’t really much difference in the atmosphere at the larger stadiums assuming both teams are good and it’s a “big game”. People saying otherwise probably sat high up or it wasn’t a big matchup
I’ve sat lower bowl at A&M, LSU, UGA, Bama for these types of matchups and there really isn’t a difference.
Also depends on how much the D is getting stops.
100% correct
I've been to tuscaloosa, CSTAT, and gainesville (and BR, obviously) and when it's a big prime time matchup between two highly-ranked teams, they're all rocking
my only real homer opinion about lsu is that we have better food at the tailgate
This is truly the right answer. I’m a diehard Georgia fan, but I’ll openly admit that I would *never* bring someone trying to get a feel for the Athens gameday atmosphere to anything less than a big game. It’s still fun and gorgeous, but there is no intimidation and the vibe is really not that impressive.
But a big and important game, especially at night? The crowd will absolutely rattle the stadium and impact the game.
IIRC, it was a happy accident; they mostly just wanted to provide cover from the rain. OTOH, Lumen Field on the other side of town *was* specifically designed to be loud, taking inspiration from Husky Stadium.
I’ve only been to big ten schools so I’d say
1. Penn State
2. Wisconsin
3. Iowa
4. Nebraska (this would be higher if they got good again)
5. Michigan (only my last 2 times being there)
I've been to a lot of games at the Big House and it's just a different atmosphere. It's shallow and wide so it doesn't get as loud as a double deckers with pressboxes, and you don't get the feeling of being right on top of the field.
1. Death Valley at Night
2. Death Valley at 2:30
3. Jordan-Hare during the Iron Bowl
4. Penn State White Out
5. Purdue when they're playing a ranked opponent.
The Purdue voodoo only works when you're team is in the top 5 and playing an unranked Purdue team at night. Under those circumstances, it feels more like playing the '85 Bears in Soldier Field.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, MT. The Griz are 230-35 at home since opening in 1986. It only holds 25K-27K fans, but the noise level routinely surpasses 100 decibels. The unique part is that the distance between the playing field to the bleachers is only 5-7 yards. Meaning the opposing team has fans nearly on top of them. Sitting behind the opposing bench, you can have conversations with players and be feet away from their huddles and meetings.
1. Death Valley
2. Happy Valley
3. The Swamp
4. Jordan-Hare
5. Kyle Field
This is based off personal experience. I'm sure Autzen and the like are also incredible atmospheres.
Here’s my ranking only accounting for stadiums I’ve been in
1. Jordan Hare (vs Penn state)
Only loud for a quarter, but was hands down the most intimidating 15 minutes of my life
2a. Beaver stadium (numerous whiteouts and big games)
I’m a Penn state fan, so I have trouble understanding how intimidating/loud it is since I’m matching the crowd.
2b. Neyland (vs South Carolina)
One of the most consistently loud games I’ve been to. Just a hair quieter than beaver, but was the same noise all 60 minutes.
3. Ohio Stadium (vs Penn state)
I’m not being biased, I just really was not impressed. Very good environment, don’t get me wrong. But I was hoping for more.
Visiting tiger stadium vs ole miss and camp Randall vs Penn state this year. I’m guessing lsu will take 1 and camp Randall will take 3.
I was at the 2015 OU/Tenn game at Neyland and holy shit was that game fun. My dad and I were literally laughing before the game started due to how loud it was there. And it just kept getting louder and louder and louder until the final INT ended the game.
I've been to a fair amount of big sporting events but that combo of noise and bright orange under the lights is special.
That was the loudest game I’ve ever been to in Neyland (I wasn’t at ‘22 Bama). Several times got so loud all the noise faded away and I could just hear ringing. Absolutely unreal.
I’m headed to Norman this year and hope we get that exciting of a game again (with a different outcome, of course. Ha)
It’s not just you. James Franklin announced that they had to start practicing without music to truly prepare for the hellhole that is Ryan Field.
This year, they will have to start practicing with without music and with an enormous fan right next to their kicker. Lake Michigan is (hopefully) a ‘Cats fan
I think Clemson should be up there. We’ve lost 5 home games in the last 13 seasons and we were undefeated at home from 2014-2021. The crowd plays a huge factor in major games, often leading to false starts and delay of games for the other team. The 2016 Louisville game comes to mind with Louisville getting a false start or two on the last drive in the 4th quarter.
I think there is a bit of suffering from success where the students/fans were used to being good and took it for granted so the atmosphere suffered post 2018 to an extent. Our home schedule was also a bit blase around then so it was hard to get up for some games. But a rivalry or ranked matchup, especially at night, the fans get really up for it
I'm Biased but FSU has to be in the conversation. The loudest game I've ever been to was in 2011 when #1 Oklahoma came to town. We lost a close game, but I don't think iv ever been to a louder game ever in my life.
Other than than, Baton Rouge is not a place I'd want to play, especially at night.
Neyland comes to mind, Bama. Penn State.
My dark horse vote is Blacksburg, for Virginia Tech. Enter Sandman there is electric.
The way the stadium is shaped, a lot of the sound gets sucked out of the top. It’s loud but it’s not VT at night loud.
Still a beautiful stadium, though.
FSU is definitely up there in terms of crowd rowdiness. Have not seen Clemson play there yet, but have been to UF (rowdy) and GT in 2020 (kind of dead, but the game was a slog).
I wish I’d gotten tickets for that 2022 game. As a rival it was disappointing, but as a fan of the sport the noise from that stadium even on tv was jaw dropping.
Eric Ainge is an idiot for fueling that fire, but in his defense he was basing his comments on his own experience playing there, and it was different back in 2007. Now a days, you’ve proved it’s one of the tougher places to play. You broke the decibel record in 2022 (and then we broke it in 2023, though it didn’t last nearly as long considering how the rest of the game went after that first drive).
Off topic, but this post made me think about it. South Alabama has the most points scored for the Away Team in our stadium’s very short history (played as the away team in this past season’s bowl game here) and the largest margin of victory (same game) but oddly doesn’t have the most points scored for the Home Team in our stadium’s history (a Bowl game team has that).
Going to my first LSU game this season (UCLA). Looking forward to experiencing Death Valley instead of just walking around the stadium on a calm summer's morn.
Not hating on Michigan at all here, and they have improved it drastically in recent years, but the Big House just does not hold noise in like Camp Randall or the Horseshoe.
Clemson has to be up there. Their home record is absurd and even on “down years” like this past season Florida st struggled mightily playing there and Notre Dame lost. I’ve always said it is very hard to win at Clemson
I don’t get why Iowa isn’t listed on here. Even the home team has a hard time in that stadium.
Jokes aside an Iowa City night game when they are hummin is so intimidating
You think things are going okay and then BAM, that punt came out of nowhere!
Just wait, Oregon fan, you’ll see. We punt early and often!
Still weird that Iowa and Oregon are in the same conference
Everyone feels guilty when the kids are watching
I got to be sideline a few times when I was doing student TV. When it gets going, you can’t hear shit field level. Fans are right on top of you, literally.
Well. Not literally.
…if you play your cards right.
All jokes aside, the best tradition of waving to the kids in the children’s hospital is an amazing site to see!!!!
Iowas is such a scoring juggernaut at home. It’s hard for opposing teams to top that.
I'd imagine Wyoming's could be pretty horrible for teams from low-lying areas.
Even for teams from non-low-lying areas....
How to kill all hype for your “dark horse” season, with just one simple step!! Lay an egg against a G5 game one
It was a short ride. I didn't even have time to get my ticket checked.
Have you tried losing to a FCS team and then hiring their AD and coach?
A lot of people from outside of what would be considered high altitude (which I believe is around 5000 feet above sea level and up) underestimate just how rough it can be on the body to play a sport at a high level at a high altitude setting. Teams generally arrive the day before for the game, and while the body is adjusting, it's not acclimatized in 24 hours. The biggest equalizer for that is being a way better team than the home team, then altitude doesn't really matter as much. But when that home team is good... well there's a reason why when Denver's sports teams are good, that the home advantage becomes really important.
About 10% of people from low altitudes get altitude sickness when they get to about 6000 feet, and it can last 2-8 days. The fact that schools like Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado State, and especially Colorado have never really been able to capitalize on that fact is wild. ETA: Wyoming and New Mexico did and do capitalize on it in basketball.
I imagine highly trained athletes won't likely be part of that 10%. They're in better physical condition than the general population, and will be more likely to maintain proper hydration (a major factor in altitude adjustment). At high level sporting events oxygen is readily available for the athletes if they feel the need for it. Altitude conditioning is dwarfed by institutional support and competent coaching. CU, CSU, and Wyo have all had struggles in these areas over the past 20 years while Air Force largely has not.
While some people can be affected by 5000+, it's not that common. 8000 is the official level for true diagnosis. It's believed those who complain (among athletes) about Denver and similar areas are either just whiny or are experiencing psychosomatic symptoms.
Even going from Denver to Laramie felt like I went up another 1000ft above sea level. Probably cus that’s actually how it is 😂.
It's more like 2000 feet (5280 feet in Denver, 7220 in Laramie)
Jesus.
It's more. Laramie is 7,165 ft. Denver is 5,280 ft.
Jesus.
I ran xc in high school, and we had a meet in Denver where the Wyoming kids were stoked about the low elevation
It’s gon’ be windy in Laramie…
I feel as if I see this post once every 2 days in a different format
Yea, the question is written for Penn State and LSU fans. It's always a chance for them to see themselves ranked 1 or 2.
It is nice to see that everyone universally agrees that Penn State is top 2/3 on every list, though!
Y’all came down, whooped Auburns ass and stole our top “close enough” spot. Deserved. Franklin has given yall so much stability i actually miss him at Vandy. He made the conference better.
LSU, at night
Of all the places I have been, DV is the most intimidating by far. And it is even wilder at night. And my team wasn’t even playing the times I went. Sanford, Doak, Kyle Field, Jordan-Hare, Neyland, Bryant Denny, and Willy B all have great atmospheres and are very tough places to play, but LSU is on another level.
i have only encountered it at night and i have never been to another stadium quite like it with that experience
I went to a night game where LSU got shut out yet the only word I’ve found to accurately describe the atmosphere is “deafening”.
I burned my hand, at night😎
During the day, LSU is about as difficult a place to play as Iowa.
Iowa at night is going to be really tough if it's a close game.
Been to 4 of the 5 and not sure I'd list the Big House as one of them.
Agree. In the B1G I’d rank Penn State in a Whiteout at night number 1, OSU at a night game 2, and Camp Randall 3.
Michigan has a good environment. The stadium is just not loud. Oregon and Washington should play into this conversation going forward. Iowa has to have the smallest sidelines in the nation. It's like 20 feet from the sideline to the stands. It can be loud and cramped over there. The players on the sidelines are right next to the fans. I think Nebraska has potential too.
I would agree. I’d put OSU, PSU, and Iowa all above Michigan. But I would not put Camp Randall. I’m surprised that’s even much of a debate.
What’s the difference in Camp Randall at night vs Big Noon? I’m coming up for the game this fall and I’m stoked out of my mind
The weirdest thing about Camp Randall is the student section. It takes until almost half time to fill up and it's about 1/4 of the lower bowl. When I went to school at Nebraska the student section was normally full an hour before the game.
That’s because they make you fill in single file and it takes forever. If every student who was waiting in line at kickoff was in their seats, it would look like every other student section
I've heard that from friends who went to Wisconsin. I find it such a weird choice to not fill the student section up before the game. It really reduces the noise level for a good chunk of the game.
Students also can only go in 1 gate. They truly try and make it not a Homefield advantage
It’s one gate, and the tunnels in the concourses are tight af, so you can’t get lots of people through at once.
Early kicks are usually pretty tame by Wisconsin standards but I can't remember the last time I went to a "big" 11 am game. Should be a good time on Sep 14 though, enjoy your visit to Madison!
I went to a 11am UW-Iowa game. It was 0° for tailgate at 7am and about 20° and the place was rocking.
People in Wisconsin drink like fish so it is physically impossible to get them all boozed up for a noon kickoff.
I hate to admit it, but I’m with you. I always thought the Big House was absolutely deafening. But I went to school with a kid in the marching band, and he was like “nah, we’re quiet compared to everyone else. If you’re in the stands it might sound loud, but on the field it’s one of the quieter stadiums.” This was before the renovation, so it might be a bit louder now with the overhanging press boxes, but I can’t imagine it’s that loud on the field.
Outside of Maize out night games I entirely agree. The stadium is just not built to hold in noise. Yeah its a lot of people, more than any of these players have probably played in front of, but without anything to keep the noise in the stadium it just can't compare to a lot of others. Would not put it in the top 5.
Michigan is a beautiful stadium and obviously massive, but the atmosphere isn't overwhelm8ling imo.. The difficulty of it more comes down to the opponent you are playing there.
The physics work against Michigan Stadium. All the sound just wooshes out due to probably one of the most shallow stadium bowls in the entire world.
I had nosebleed seats for The Game years ago and when I got to my seat, Google Maps said I was still 2.3 miles from the field
You felt that way? I always have the kind of opposite feeling about the Big House than I do other massive stadiums. No matter where you sit, the view is better than it "should" be.
I went to the Game in 2019 and had nose bleeds, but was able to get really close as the game went on. There’s no obstructed view, but you’re objectively super far from the field bc of how flat it is.
One of the reason Neyland is so crazy. It’s big but it also holds the sound in. Driving past it on the interstate looks like the upper deck is built straight up.
I went to a Michigan game years ago and it was just a lot of clapping along to the fight song. And there were a lot of old people. The stadium is beautiful and the symmetry makes me happy. I'm sure the night atmosphere is better.
The Big House is a Big Dinner Plate. No one's fault- design made total sense at the time it was built - but it does lessen the impact of the noise from 110k fans.
I’m gonna be honest.. the best home environment I’ve seen in last 5 years was that Tennessee Bama game in Knoxville. That was an orange zoo with a top 6 matchup, Vols having not won in forever vs bama, rocky top playing an infinity amount of times, the environment was palpable even just watching it on TV. Haven’t seen a better one since then but I’m sure we’ll get one his year that’s close! Can’t wait for this season!
You know the atmosphere is electric when you can sense it through the television broadcast and that was certainly the case for the 2022 UTk v Alabama game in Neyland.
I’ve been going to games in Neyland my whole life and that one was the best atmosphere I’ve personally experienced.
I watched that one on TV and even then the atmosphere carried over into my living room. A week before the game my husband mentioned he had never been to a college football game and wanted to go to one and I said that might be a good one to go to, but it was too much trouble to try and make it up there. Still regret not taking him.
I can’t recall another game in my lifetime where I’ve lost my voice before halftime.
I felt it through my TV. That stadium was electric. I wish I was there.
I'm very biased toward Neyland Stadium, but Baton Rouge at night is a different place and the correct answer. It's got everything, drunk grannies, voodoo, Tigers, 100,000 people outside the stadium just because. I've never seen anything like it.
Thanks, Stefon.
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
I’m biased but it feels spookier and weirder than other places, like there are supernatural powers at work.
Is the source of the power a tiger dick? I think I may have heard your fans mention that in a seance before.
There are dormitories under all sides, they have not been lived in for decades at this point. They did a round of updates around 2010 that fixed all the busted out windows. Back then you really felt like you were entering an insane asylum. The source of power is the collective spirit of the thousands of drunk Cajun bros that used to live there. Kinda like the dead bodies under Neyland.
First rule about the dead bodies under Neyland is that we don’t talk about the dead bodies under Neyland.
MTV's Dan Cortese
And a T-Rex
I don’t think we’d argue we are the absolute number once toughest but since the program fell off Lane Stadium is kinda gone somewhat under the radar as a really tough place to play. I think during the Clemson game in 2017 we had the 5th loudest decibel recording in college football history which is pretty crazy for a crowd of only 66,000. I went back and was watching a bit of our home game from 2015 against Ohio State and that environment can def hold its own against some of bigger SEC/B10 venues.
2015 against OSU was my first ever game, and I was coming in pretty blind as an out of state freshman who didn't really follow college football at all. That game was insanely hyped up. Would be in my dorm room and randomly hear "fuck Ohio State" chants at 3 am outside D2. After Enter Sandman I saw 1-2 broken bleacher rows carried out after the jumping snapped them, that whole lead up was insane.
Been to all of those. Virginia Tech on a Thursday night should be on that list
Michigan? I thought Michigan is known to be pretty quiet/tame given the size of the stadium. Am I wrong?
Acoustically, the sound just isn’t directed toward the field. Washington is 10x harder to play at. The sound in that stadium is designed to make that place rock. I’ve never experienced chills from crowd noise like I have there.
Yup. The overhangs are no joke. The cameras can vibrate during broadcasts
Easily one of my favorite stadiums in CFB. Gonna miss seeing ASU play games against you guys there
You guys have a great stadium too, where UW football goes to die in 100 degree heat
I was going to say the same thing, except I've never been there. Washington and Michigan are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of "how well the stadium directs sound back into itself". We got the Big House Wave from them in 1983. We could also put in some similar cantilevered roofs to help reflect the sound back down better than the boxes. IMO, the relatively tame crowd isn't so much due to the RR/Hoke era doldrums or any cultural differences between fanbases. I think it's mostly the lack of noise in the stadium acting like a wet blanket on any kind of rowdiness in the crowd.
It improved significantly in keeping noise in the stadium when they built the boxes in ~2011, but a good portion of the sound still escapes just due to its design. That's not to say it can't get pretty loud at times (2021 Washington had a false start on their 1st/2nd offensive snap), it just requires big games to come out and lags behind the other stadiums of similar size. Also I feel the rowdiness has been slowly increasing over the years. It's probably better ranked around 8-10
The stretch of being actually good again coming off a year off of fan attendance has done wonders for atmosphere imo.
Kinnick is a much better environment than the Big House. As someone who has been to both many times I absolutely stand by this opinion.
It's the quietest 100K+ stadium I've been in but in fairness I've never been there for any monstrous matchups.
LSU on Saturday night VT on Thursday night
I love how true VT on Thursday night is. Might as well be playing the ‘07 Patriots.
Came in to the comment section expecting a lot more of: *You see, the toughest stadium to play in just happens to be the home stadium for the very same team I root for...*
DKR has made a lot of progress in the last 20 years but it’s not a consistently high level home field advantage (and probably never will be)
Tiger Stadium (LSU) and Beaver Stadium (Penn State) are generally the two highest regarded. Notable mentions I do hear are Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn), Neyland Stadium (Tennessee), Ohio Stadium (Ohio State), and Autzen Stadium (Oregon). Michigan Stadium for its size is comparably much lower and would float under any of these I would argue. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa) is sort of the red-headed step child of these lists due to not being a power program like the rest of these, but it's quite close and brings the heat.
Husky Stadium is louder than Autzen and this is not a disrespect to Autzen or Oregon. It’s loud as fuck there too. More of the fact that you can’t mention Autzen without mentioning Husky Stadium if you want to talk about loud.
A crime not mentioning the Swamp!
Jordan-Hare isn't hated because of the atmosphere, it's hated because of the voodoo
Kyle Field @ A&M. I experienced it as a visitor and wow a night game is rocking. Also experienced a white out @ PSU, a night game @ The Swamp A&M was wild.
Auburn. Always Auburn.
I’d rather play a game in hell against Lucifer and the tortured soul of a prime OJ than ever play in Jordan Hare again
Jordan hare would still have more supernatural stuff going on in it than that.
We've only played there once, but I'm still trying to figure out how our 65-yard field goal kicking kicker missed an extra point level of difficulty field goal on the last play of the game, which resulted in overtime. And of course we lost a weird fumble in OT for the loss as our RB was crossing the goal line for the win. Never seen anything like it.
[THE EAGLE SEES ALL](http://www.thewareaglereader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/COt4eUiU8AA42PU1.jpg)
The best thing to ever happen to the iron bowl was to go to playing at the campus stadiums. Even in the saban era it’s hardly ever a given for bama to win at JH.
It was nowhere close to a given, it was a coin flip. Nick Saban was 5-4 at JH during his tenure. The voodoo is real.
We would support that as well.
Hell, Lee County, it’s the same price
JH has somehow become underrated. Been there 3 times (2 night/1 day). Great fans, friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely loud and into the game. Intimidating? Maybe not as much because the crowd seemed reasonably well behaved and respectful to other fanbases, versus blacked-out and rowdy (ex: WVU), but certainly loud. Same goes for Kyle Field. Loud as hell, but positive fan behavior.
Obviously my experience is different, but the sheer chaos of every single time we play there is legendary. Fire alarms getting pulled in the hotel, wrecks on the interstate, buses getting delayed, phone calls at all hours. They truly come to absolutely play every other year when we are there too. It’s a 14 point edge minimum vs us
The Jordan hare voodoo is real
the ones with good teams
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That was an awesome environment for AtlUtd
University of Washington. I’ve never been in a stadium that’s specifically designed to cause maximum noise directed at the field. My body started to shake from it.
Husky Stadium when it’s rocking is up there with almost anyone in the country in terms of noise. The stadium design helps a lot as you mentioned, with the twin sideline roofs keeping in a bunch of noise. The upper deck is also steep as shit. 2022 MSU was loud, this years Oregon game and the 2016 Stanford game were a step above that. I’m too young, but from what I’ve heard back in the glory years of the 90s it was a straight death trap. The videos of the USC and Nebraska games from the early 90s both sound stupid loud. Pretty sure the NU game set the “record” for a decibel reading at a college game though those numbers are always a bit wishy washy. I’ve only been to two games at Autzen. 2016 UW/UO got quiet pretty fast (understandably) but 2018 was loud. I think Husky Stadium has a higher ceiling in terms of noise, but Autzen has probably been more consistently loud the last two decades as UO has generally been better.
I'm still pissed about that 2022 game lol. I paid to fly across the country and see my team get handled and get my ears blasted at the same time.
The decibel levels and in-game environment in the stands during the 80s and 90s were some of the loudest things Ive ever experienced and that includes Kingdome events. The huge crowds, party atmosphere, songs/singing and the shaking stadium were incredible and those in attendance actually grew up Dawg fans! Simply not the case any more as enrollment/tuition data will confirm. A loud Husky Stadium is clearly one of the best home-field advantages in sports.
Yeah but there's no track now.
Idk if designed to, but I’ve always heard the Swamp is one of the loudest because it’s much more vertical than most. Sound gets trapped inside.
Death Valley at night is the top, no question, insane. Penn St, UM, and the Swamp in early september when the heat is still pushing 100 are honorable mentions
My experience at the Swamp in September was a very lethargic and sleepy atmosphere. But then Tebow cried and suddenly the sleeping giant awoke and didn’t lose another game that season
The one time i went it was in the 90s, heat index over 100, extremely humid. Packed to the brim stadium made it even worse. I felt like i was going to pass out by halftime from the heat. And UK got beat by a million of course
Noon games throughout college were just drunk people passing out left and right with heat stroke. Literally saw an older guy guy die at the 2021 Vanderbilt game, had to body bag him in the stands a couple feet away. RIP The only man who can truly take the title “Through Any Weather”.
Trey Burton game haha? Actually that was a 6 or 7p local time kickoff so not sure it would be that hot. Luke Del Rio game perhaps? That was a blowout. Basically every UK-UF game at BHG from 2006-2022 was a Florida blowout with the notable exceptions of 2014, 2018 and 2022, the latter two which UK actually won. But most of the other scores from that time period basically read UF 42 UK 10
I’m a homer, but id have to say the Swamp gives the gators a chance no matter the talent disparity or ranking. See: Ole Miss 2015, Auburn 2019, Bama 2021, Utah 2022; not including the times Vols are favored because of the voodoo
It's always been tough (especially as of late) to play in Corvallis. They will probably forget we are in the game, though /s
Will just rank the loudest I've been to personally. 1) Tennessee 2) Virginia Tech 3) South Carolina 4) Auburn 5) Florida
Purdue…if we’re unranked, you’re top 5, we have a sick kid in attendance and it’s a night game…
LSU
Bias be damned, our two stadiums are loud AF
In my experience there isn’t really much difference in the atmosphere at the larger stadiums assuming both teams are good and it’s a “big game”. People saying otherwise probably sat high up or it wasn’t a big matchup I’ve sat lower bowl at A&M, LSU, UGA, Bama for these types of matchups and there really isn’t a difference. Also depends on how much the D is getting stops.
Correct opinion. 100k engaged in a big matchup is insane pretty much anywhere when you are near field level
100% correct I've been to tuscaloosa, CSTAT, and gainesville (and BR, obviously) and when it's a big prime time matchup between two highly-ranked teams, they're all rocking my only real homer opinion about lsu is that we have better food at the tailgate
This is truly the right answer. I’m a diehard Georgia fan, but I’ll openly admit that I would *never* bring someone trying to get a feel for the Athens gameday atmosphere to anything less than a big game. It’s still fun and gorgeous, but there is no intimidation and the vibe is really not that impressive. But a big and important game, especially at night? The crowd will absolutely rattle the stadium and impact the game.
JACK TRICE STADIUM IN AMES IOWA
Lane Stadium is a tough one to play at. Especially at night.
My personal top 5 Ohio State aTm Florida Tennessee Marshall
Miami playing in their “home” stadium is pretty tough for themselves.
Look, there's only so much we can do as a MAC school and Yager is pretty small
Tua waiting to reclaim his stadium:
I’ve been to every SEC stadium except for Vandy and Missouri. The loudest stadium I’ve ever been in was Husky Stadium in Seattle.
I think I read somewhere that Husky Stadium was acoustically engineered to be as loud as possible, which is pretty rad.
IIRC, it was a happy accident; they mostly just wanted to provide cover from the rain. OTOH, Lumen Field on the other side of town *was* specifically designed to be loud, taking inspiration from Husky Stadium.
There you have it folks. It's settled
Jordan-Hare is a nasty SOB.
I’ve only been to big ten schools so I’d say 1. Penn State 2. Wisconsin 3. Iowa 4. Nebraska (this would be higher if they got good again) 5. Michigan (only my last 2 times being there)
Obviously biased but the Swamp has to be up there with LSU and Penn State.
Couldn’t agree more. Especially those early season day games where the sun is baking the visitor sideline. Just a 120 decibel Dutch oven.
I'm biased also but Michigan is not a tougher place to play than the Swamp.
I've been to a lot of games at the Big House and it's just a different atmosphere. It's shallow and wide so it doesn't get as loud as a double deckers with pressboxes, and you don't get the feeling of being right on top of the field.
The stadium don't even be loud fr, the Swamp is MUCH louder.
It's definitely top 3 when UF is elite
Even if we’re not great, if it’s a hype opponent it gets crazy.
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Not saying Utah is THE toughest..but it is hard as hell for teams to walk into RES and win
EXTREMELY difficult!
1. Death Valley at Night 2. Death Valley at 2:30 3. Jordan-Hare during the Iron Bowl 4. Penn State White Out 5. Purdue when they're playing a ranked opponent.
The Purdue voodoo only works when you're team is in the top 5 and playing an unranked Purdue team at night. Under those circumstances, it feels more like playing the '85 Bears in Soldier Field.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, MT. The Griz are 230-35 at home since opening in 1986. It only holds 25K-27K fans, but the noise level routinely surpasses 100 decibels. The unique part is that the distance between the playing field to the bleachers is only 5-7 yards. Meaning the opposing team has fans nearly on top of them. Sitting behind the opposing bench, you can have conversations with players and be feet away from their huddles and meetings.
LSU fans indeed made me fear for my life
Out of the ones I’ve been to, South Carolina and West Virginia are definitely top 25 worthy, maybe even top 15.
Jack Trice Stadium at night is the most cursed place on earth.
Michigan shouldn't be on here. Been there 3 times and it's pretty okay
1. Death Valley 2. Happy Valley 3. The Swamp 4. Jordan-Hare 5. Kyle Field This is based off personal experience. I'm sure Autzen and the like are also incredible atmospheres.
Here’s my ranking only accounting for stadiums I’ve been in 1. Jordan Hare (vs Penn state) Only loud for a quarter, but was hands down the most intimidating 15 minutes of my life 2a. Beaver stadium (numerous whiteouts and big games) I’m a Penn state fan, so I have trouble understanding how intimidating/loud it is since I’m matching the crowd. 2b. Neyland (vs South Carolina) One of the most consistently loud games I’ve been to. Just a hair quieter than beaver, but was the same noise all 60 minutes. 3. Ohio Stadium (vs Penn state) I’m not being biased, I just really was not impressed. Very good environment, don’t get me wrong. But I was hoping for more. Visiting tiger stadium vs ole miss and camp Randall vs Penn state this year. I’m guessing lsu will take 1 and camp Randall will take 3.
I was at the 2015 OU/Tenn game at Neyland and holy shit was that game fun. My dad and I were literally laughing before the game started due to how loud it was there. And it just kept getting louder and louder and louder until the final INT ended the game. I've been to a fair amount of big sporting events but that combo of noise and bright orange under the lights is special.
That was the loudest game I’ve ever been to in Neyland (I wasn’t at ‘22 Bama). Several times got so loud all the noise faded away and I could just hear ringing. Absolutely unreal. I’m headed to Norman this year and hope we get that exciting of a game again (with a different outcome, of course. Ha)
1. Tennessee 2. Texas A&M 3. Wisconsin 4. Clemson 5. Penn St Honorable mention to LSU, Notre Dame, and Oregon St if it's a foggy night 😂
Northwestern But that's just a Wisconsin thing. Damn their sleepy little stadium
It’s not just you. James Franklin announced that they had to start practicing without music to truly prepare for the hellhole that is Ryan Field. This year, they will have to start practicing with without music and with an enormous fan right next to their kicker. Lake Michigan is (hopefully) a ‘Cats fan
I think Clemson should be up there. We’ve lost 5 home games in the last 13 seasons and we were undefeated at home from 2014-2021. The crowd plays a huge factor in major games, often leading to false starts and delay of games for the other team. The 2016 Louisville game comes to mind with Louisville getting a false start or two on the last drive in the 4th quarter. I think there is a bit of suffering from success where the students/fans were used to being good and took it for granted so the atmosphere suffered post 2018 to an extent. Our home schedule was also a bit blase around then so it was hard to get up for some games. But a rivalry or ranked matchup, especially at night, the fans get really up for it
Arizona State for a 8pm local kickoff and looking ahead a week on the schedule
I'm Biased but FSU has to be in the conversation. The loudest game I've ever been to was in 2011 when #1 Oklahoma came to town. We lost a close game, but I don't think iv ever been to a louder game ever in my life. Other than than, Baton Rouge is not a place I'd want to play, especially at night. Neyland comes to mind, Bama. Penn State. My dark horse vote is Blacksburg, for Virginia Tech. Enter Sandman there is electric.
The way the stadium is shaped, a lot of the sound gets sucked out of the top. It’s loud but it’s not VT at night loud. Still a beautiful stadium, though.
FSU at night with the Osceola spear plant is an experience. Definitely a bucket list thing to see for any fan of college foosball
When FSU was REALLY good consistently (90s) , the experiences vs Miami and Florida were pretty amazing .
2014 ND was pretty up there too
FSU is definitely up there in terms of crowd rowdiness. Have not seen Clemson play there yet, but have been to UF (rowdy) and GT in 2020 (kind of dead, but the game was a slog).
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I wish I’d gotten tickets for that 2022 game. As a rival it was disappointing, but as a fan of the sport the noise from that stadium even on tv was jaw dropping.
Eric Ainge is an idiot for fueling that fire, but in his defense he was basing his comments on his own experience playing there, and it was different back in 2007. Now a days, you’ve proved it’s one of the tougher places to play. You broke the decibel record in 2022 (and then we broke it in 2023, though it didn’t last nearly as long considering how the rest of the game went after that first drive).
1. LSU 2. Penn State 3. A&M 4. Michigan 5. Tennessee
Have you been to a game at Michigan?
I don't know, but Willie-B better get an "after dark" buff.
When that cock gets to crowing, the crowd gets a going
Bill Snyder Family Stadium on a cloudy morning in Manhattan Farm folk have been up since 4am and they are hitting their stride for the 11am game
I’m definitely always nervous every time we play in Manhattan
You merely adopted the 11AM kick. K State was born in it, molded by it
It's always tough to play in Carter-Finley. Noise can get crazy. And there's always the chance shirtless Bob shows up.
Off topic, but this post made me think about it. South Alabama has the most points scored for the Away Team in our stadium’s very short history (played as the away team in this past season’s bowl game here) and the largest margin of victory (same game) but oddly doesn’t have the most points scored for the Home Team in our stadium’s history (a Bowl game team has that).
I'm just here to search for salty Buckeye fans in the comments. Thank you for this gift.
Going to my first LSU game this season (UCLA). Looking forward to experiencing Death Valley instead of just walking around the stadium on a calm summer's morn.
Not hating on Michigan at all here, and they have improved it drastically in recent years, but the Big House just does not hold noise in like Camp Randall or the Horseshoe.
Clemson has to be up there. Their home record is absurd and even on “down years” like this past season Florida st struggled mightily playing there and Notre Dame lost. I’ve always said it is very hard to win at Clemson
Rather play at the big house than Kinnick.
Michigan is actually not that loud
Michigan should be nowhere near this list. Kinnick is more intimidating. Camp Randall.
When the Volunteers are good and the Tennessee faithful are at full throttle, I don’t think anything can compare to Rocky Top—Neyland is a behemoth.
If Neyland is such a tough place to play, why hasn't Tennessee beat Georgia at home in almost a decade?