These are the biggest stadiums in college football
When the first-ever college football game was played in 1869, just about 100 spectators showed up on Rutgers' campus. Fast forward 147 years to Sept. 10, 2016 and Bristol Motor Speedway played host for a special Tennessee-Virginia Tech neutral site game that drew an NCAA-record 156,990 paid.
Crowds of 100,000-plus have become commonplace in college football thanks to extraordinary renovations and multimillion-dollar projects. In 2022, eight schools boast home stadiums that hold a six-figure capacity.Â
FOOTBALL GUIDE:Â Notable firsts and milestones in college football history
Here are the 25 largest capacity stadiums that serve as primary homes for FBS college football teams ahead of the 2023 season.Â
| RANK | SCHOOL | STADIUM | CAPACITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor, Mich.) | 107,601 |
| 2 | Penn State | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | 106,572 |
| 3 | Ohio State | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) | 102,780 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | Kyle Field (College Station, Texas) | 102,733 |
| 5 | LSU | Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, La.) | 102,321 |
| 6 | Tennessee | Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, Tenn.) | 101,915 |
| 7 | Alabama | Bryant-Denny Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) | 101,821 |
| 8 | Texas | Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) | 100,119 |
| 9 | Georgia | Sanford Stadium (Athens, Ga.) | 92,746 |
| 10 | UCLA | Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) | 91,136 |
| 11 | Florida | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Gainesville, Fla.) | 88,548 |
| 12 | Auburn | Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn, Ala.) | 87,451 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, Okla.) | 86,112 |
| 14 | Nebraska | Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.) | 85,458 |
| 15 | Clemson | Clemson Memorial Stadium (Clemson, S.C.) | 81,500 |
| 16 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.) | 80,795 |
| 17 | Florida State | Doak Campbell Stadium (Tallahassee, Fla.) | 79,560 |
| 18 | South Carolina | Williams-Brice Stadium (Columbia, S.C.) | 77,559 |
| 19 | Southern Cal | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles) | 77,500 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, Wisc.) | 75,822 |
| 21 | Michigan State | Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, Mich.) | 74,866 |
| 22 | Arkansas | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.) | 72,000 |
| 23 | Washington | Husky Stadium (Seattle, Wash.) | 70,138 |
| 24 | Iowa | Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, Iowa)Â | 69,250 |
| 25 | Temple | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 68,532 |
Notes:Â
- Before that 2016 Battle at Bristol meeting between Tennessee and Virginia Tech, Michigan Stadium owned the modern-day college football attendance record. In 2013, Notre Dame visited Michigan and played in front of a crowd of 115,109. Michigan won 41-30.
- While the Rose Bowl's capacity for UCLA home games stands at 91,136, its all-time attendance record is 106,869. That was set in 1973 at the 59th Rose Bowl Game, which saw USC defeat Ohio State 42-17. The Trojans were then unanimously voted the No. 1 team in the nation in both the final AP poll and coaches' poll.
