Bowling For Dollars
Someone asked me yesterday about the upcoming bowl games, of which there are more than a few. Two years ago, I offered a "Bowl Games Primer", since one is needed, but this year I am less interested. If you are interested, everything you require is found here: "2025-26 NCAA Football Bowl Games".
Big Stadiums
To make up for what I didn't offer, here is a list of the biggest football stadiums, which provides another indication that college football is far more popular down there than it is up here. The stadium pictured is close by. The ones listed are over 10 times as large.
10 Largest U.S. College Football Stadiums
1.Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor, Michigan): 107,601
2.Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pennsylvania): 106,572
3.Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio): 102,780
4.Kyle Field (College Station, Texas): 102,733
5.Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge, Louisiana): 102,321
6.Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, Tennessee): 101,915
7.Bryant-Denny Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Alabama): 101,821
8.Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas): 100,119
9.Sanford Stadium (Athens, Georgia): 92,746
10. Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California): 91,136
The Bonus:
Although the professional football stadiums are smaller than the collegiate ones listed, they have the same purposes:
"Stadiums are secular megachurches, where believers gather to share communion, to exalt and mourn, and to don the vestments of faith. There’s nothing like the oceanic feeling of celebrating a touchdown or a home run or a classic guitar solo with tens of thousands of people who are having the same fan experience as you. Jonathan Mallie, a managing director of Populous, the largest stadium designer in the country, calls these venues “cathedrals for memories.” (The firm, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is building the Buffalo Bills’ new shrine, New Highmark Stadium, alongside its predecessor; it will open in 2026.) The difference is that in stadiums, unlike in cathedrals, every inch of the space, and every sight line—not only to the field but also to the sponsors’ logos—is monetized. Stadiums may be the most rigorously monetized spaces on earth."
That is from: "How the Sports Stadium Went Luxe: Is the race to create ever more lavish spectator offerings in America’s largest entertainment venues changing the fan experience?," John Seabrook, The New Yorker, Dec. 1, 2025.
The list of stadiums is from, USA Today, Nov. 19, 2024.
