Players train their whole lives to finally play Division I football. All to end up in one of the worst stadiums in college football. These stadiums may have a low capacity or desperately need renovations. In no particular order, here are the ten worst stadiums in college football.
CEFCU stadium
San Jose State’s beloved CEFCU Stadium seats 30,000 fans. The Spartan’s stadium looks easily accessible for a fan who just wants to climb over a small wall. Bleachers surround every angle of the stadium but in an inconsistent manner. The bleachers are higher on the sidelines than they are on the corner of the field, making the bleachers peak at the 50-yard line. The stadium represents more of a sophisticated JUCO field and hasn’t had any renovations since 1980. Some call this stadium classic; others call it a health hazard. To each their own.
Yale Bowl
The Yale Bowl itself looks like an actual football stadium (take notes, Harvard). The stadium has a capacity of over 60,000 people and the bowl-shaped structure is surrounded by trees and a dirt path. It looks like something that a Boy Scout would find when he goes to summer camp. To make matters worse, the stadium opened in 1914, and has struggled with inconsistent renovations over the past century. The concrete stadium with metal bleacher seats sits low, providing awkward angles to view the game. Maybe worst of all, the jumbotron is pixelated and bad quality. Good luck actually watching the game.
Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium looks like a rejected Lego set. Honestly, to the normal person, their football stadium could be easily confused with their library. The field is easily accessible like a high school stadium, as the stands are shaped in a “U” around the field. Still, the stadium can hold up to 30,000 people, however, Harvard isn’t exactly known for their football program. Shocking, that an Ivy League school doesn’t prioritize athletics. Despite looking like a place where fans would watch a gladiator fight instead of a football game, we at Total Pro Sports will still have our fingers crossed for the Harvard Stadium Lego set.
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Huskie Stadium Northern Illinois
The first thing that pops up when someone searches “Huskie Stadium” is Alaska Airlines Stadium in Seattle. Red flag? Still, Huskie Stadium, home to Northern Illinois football is a plain stadium and looks like it would be used by a D-II school. It also doesn’t help that record attendance is less than 29,000 people. Still, that is astronomical for a Mid-American Conference team, with emphasis on the “mid”.
Rentschler Stadium
Home to the UConn Huskies, Rentschler Stadium can hold up to 40,000 people, but honestly, the design of the stadium makes it look like a Division II stadium. Even when the stadium is filled up, the field and the stadium complement each other, but not enough to make it seem like a Division I stadium. The plastic seats resemble those at a baseball park and the jumbotron is small compared to those in FBS football.
Wallace Wade Stadium
Sorry Duke fans, at least your Basketball arena is cool. Wallace Wade Stadium seats just over 40,000 fans but is built like a high school stadium. The field looks rundown in almost every picture, and the seating itself is shallow; resembling more of a mosh pit as opposed to a stadium. Maybe Duke Should stick to Basketball.
California Memorial Stadium
Home to the University of California Golden Bears, California Memorial Stadium tries so hard to be the Rose Bowl. If the Rose Bowl was Coca-Cola, Cal Memorial Stadium would be Pepsi. One wants to be the other so badly, but there is clearly one superior. In addition, Cal Memorial Stadium seats 63,000 but has struggled with renovations for years. However, finding a good seat is tough, as the angle of the seats makes it hard to actually watch the game unless you are in the front row. The Jumbotron is small compared to other stadiums, and the only way to get to restrooms is to climb up to the top of the stadium.
War Memorial Stadium (Wyoming)
First of all, “War Memorial Stadium” sounds like the name of a stadium in a coming-of-age romantic comedy movie. Can you think of a more generic name for an American football stadium? Digression aside, there are 17 War Memorial Stadiums in Division One FBS, all to honor those who served and died in the U.S. Military. However, War Memorial Stadium in Wyoming opened in 1950 and has a seating capacity of under 30,000. The Stadium itself is rough to look at. While the structure is symmetrical, (take notes Kelly/Shorts) there are two levels of seating on either side of the field with no seating on the side of the endzones. Also, the combination of yellow and brown that is worn by the Wyoming Cowboys and their fans might be the worst color combination in College Football.
Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Kelly/Shorts Stadium is home to the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Stadium opened in 1972 and has a capacity of 45,000 seats. The Stadium is about as generic as one can get, and could easily be confused with a high school stadium. The Stadium isn’t even symmetrical, as one side has a second level seating, and press boxes, while the other side of the stadium only has one level of seating.
Martin Stadium (Gesa Field)
No shade to the Washington State Cougars; even though their stadium in the heart of campus is the pride of their school, Martin Stadium is the smallest stadium in the PAC12, only seating 40,000 fans in a sold-out crowd. For college football, this isn’t even half of the capacity of more prestigious stadiums in the game. In addition, WSU recently gave naming rights of the field inside Martin Stadium to Gesa Credit Union. So now, there is controversy about whether the venue is called Gesa Field, or Martin Stadium. On top of this, their jumbotron has had problems with the on-field stream cutting in and out. For a school that can’t even decide on a name for its football field, WSU has some work to do to improve its stadium.
