Ranking the football stadiums of the new look Big Ten

The Big Ten will have a new look starting in the 2024-25 football season, with the conference adding Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington into the mix and bringing the conference to 18 teams.

With the new look Big Ten here, that means there is four more stadiums to add to the mix for fans to enjoy.

Here, we are going to rank the stadiums in the Big Ten, with the inclusion of the new members of the conference. Our criteria is a mixture of the stadium’s “niceness”, history and stadium atmosphere.

18. SHI Stadium (Rutgers)

Despite Rutgers being the “birthplace of college football”, SHI Stadium lacks history and has next to nothing in terms of stadium atmosphere.

17. Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility (Northwestern)

A demolished Ryan Field may have a better stadium atmosphere than SHI Stadium, but nonetheless, Northwestern will be playing their home games on their lakeside practice facility. The plans for lakeside stadium seating, and the setting surrounding the field, has the potential to be beautiful.

16. SECU Stadium (Maryland)

Another stadium lacking on history and stadium atmosphere, Maryland’s SECU Stadium falls into the bottom tier.

15. University of Illinois Memorial Stadium (Illinois)

It’s not really good, but it’s also not bad. Atmosphere lacks here at Illinois as well. If basketball crowds translated to football, this could be much higher.

14. Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue)

A stadium that routinely gets overtaken by opposing fans, this is another case of a basketball school that doesn’t translate to football.

13. Indiana University Memorial Stadium (Indiana)

Insert the Purdue section here for Indiana, honestly.

12. Huntington Bank Stadium (Minnesota)

Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium got a nice upgrade when the Vikings used it as their home stadium for a short period of time. Pair that with the atmosphere that is building there under the P.J. Fleck tenure, Minnesota is a solid place for a game.

11. Spartan Stadium (Michigan State)

If this was based solely on stadium atmosphere, and history, Spartan Stadium would have a chance to shoot up this list, but it sits at No. 11 due to desperate need for renovations to the concourse and stadium as a whole.

10. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska)

The stadium atmosphere in Lincoln is one of the best in college football, but the $450 million renovation the school is pushing for is desperately needed.

9. Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin)

Another older stadium with an outstanding atmosphere, Camp Randall is slowly renovating and improving the overall experience.

8. Husky Stadium (Washington)

A stadium built in 1920, Husky Stadium had a recent renovation and the stadium is gorgeous. Sitting right on the water, the experience in Seattle is one of the better experiences in the league.

7. Michigan Stadium (Michigan)

Yes, Michigan Stadium is very big, but that is all there really is too it. The brand of U of M carries much more weight for the stadium than the stadium really deserves.

6. LA Memorial Coliseum (USC)

The Coliseum is known for the crazy amount of history it holds both in football and other sports. That alone makes this such a prestigious stadium, despite the lack of fan support USC has had in recent memory.

5. Autzen Stadium (Oregon)

Oregon’s Autzen Stadium is known to be one of the loudest stadiums in college football. The atmosphere in Eugene is continually the best in the sport.

4. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa)

If you are a fan of a traditional Big Ten team, you know one of the most dreaded road trips is Kinnick at night. Kinnick is a brutal place to play with one of the best fan atmospheres in the country, and now a really cool tradition with the children’s hospital next door.

3. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State)

The horseshoe is iconic and not only for it’s cool design, but also the crazy home field advantage it gives the Buckeyes.

2. Beaver Stadium (Penn State)

There is no tradition quite like the white out in Happy Valley. Penn State’s Beaver Stadium is one of a kind and is continually a destination spot for fans to attend.

1. Rose Bowl Stadium (UCLA)

The Rose Bowl Stadium is arguably the most iconic stadium in college football history. UCLA is blessed to be able to call this sanctuary home, despite the lack of fan support they get inside of it, there is no denying how great the Rose Bowl Stadium is.