The popularity of college football is growing throughout the country. In some areas of the country college football plays a backseat to other "more important"
sports, but in other areas of the country college football is king. What areas of the country embrace their teams more heartedly than any other?
The Top Five College Football Campuses in America
1. Columbus Ohio, Ohio State Buckeyes- Ohio State fans are absolutely crazy, and I mean that in a good way. Having said that, you'll want to keep your eyes open if you are visiting Ohio Stadium and rooting for the visiting team as they can be quite obnoxious at times. Columbus takes its college football as serious as anyone. Many have asked the question of why Columbus hasn't gotten any major pro sports, but the clear answer is that no matter what that team will always take a backseat to the Buckeyes and marketers understand that fully. The band is second to none and the energy in the stadium each week is amazing. A ticket to Ohio Stadium is one of the toughest tickets in sports and the prices can get quite ridiculous.
2. Knoxville Tennessee, Tennessee Volunteers- The Volunteer faithful pack in Neyland Stadium and its 104,000 seats every Saturday in college football season and the fans are extremely loud. The stadium itself is an amazing site, towering high over the ground and intimidating opponents on a weekly basis. The Tennessee River is right next to the stadium and the tailgating is a huge draw for hours and hours before each home game. Vols fans are extremely loyal, showing up to support their team even in the down years.
3. Gainesville Florida, Florida Gators- The Gators fans are a very brash, unrelenting group that intimidates other fans and the opposing team as much as any other campus can. The Swamp is the nickname often given to the setting of the Gators home field, and that is a very appropriate name. The conditions are generally hot and humid and the fans feed off this, while the opposing team generally flounders because of it.
4. Madison Wisconsin, Wisconsin Badgers- Wisconsin is a great sports state as a whole, and Madison is definitely a great college football city. Camp Randall Stadium and the Badgers faithful are probably most famous for the "jump around"
craze that literally shakes the stadium. Opponents are forced to walk through the student section to get the field, and that can be a pretty ugly site. Madison on Saturday's in the fall is like one big college football party.
5. Lincoln, Nebraska, Nebraska Cornhuskers- The expectations are extremely high here because these fans know what winning tastes like. Tom Osborne built a hugely successful program and won 2 outright national titles, and a share of one in 1997. Nebraska is known for its hard nosed style of play on the field, and its fans are no different.
College football has never been more popular than it is today. With the changing of the guard that takes place, it will be interesting to see which campuses rise in the coming years to challenge for these top five spots.
Which towns or campuses do you think should have been included in the top 5?
