Rethinking the Top 18: Big Ten Football Stadiums Re-Ranked from Last to First

Only nine weeks remain until the 2025 college football season kicks off in Dublin, Ireland, with
Iowa State
playing
Kansas State
. We’re less than 10 weeks away from the Big Ten season, which begins on Thursday, Aug. 28, with Wisconsin-Miami (Ohio), Rutgers-Ohio, Minnesota-Buffalo and
Nebraska-
Cincinnati.

Unlike last year, the Big Ten did not undergo significant changes this offseason. June 2024 was spent projecting the upcoming performance of new members
USC
,
UCLA
,
Oregon
and
Washington
, and speculating on how those respective performances would affect the conference landscape. The answer: Oregon won the conference title, USC and Washington moderately struggled but made a bowl game, and UCLA showed steady growth under first-year coach DeShaun Foster.

That landscape has significantly more clarity entering 2025. One facet, specifically, that gained clarity in 2024 is how the West Coast locations compare to the Big Ten’s classic football venues. All four new locations showed well, with one doing so more than the rest.

For more, here is where each falls in our updated Big Ten football stadium power rankings, Summer 2025 edition.

18. SHI Stadium (Rutgers
Scarlet Knights
)

Capacity:

52,454

Opened:

1994

Rutgers’ stadium lacks any distinctive characteristic, other than it being located nearly 3,000 miles away from Eugene, Oregon. Cross-country travel is the biggest headline when the West Coast members visit the Scarlet Knights.

17. SECU Stadium (Maryland Terrapins)

Capacity:

51,802

Opened:

1950

Maryland’s stadium, like Rutgers’, lacks a clear identity. The building will be 75 years old in 2025 and has some history: It has hosted 10 Division I NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships. It doesn’t have much football history, however.

16. Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue
Boilermakers
)

Capacity:

57,236

Opened:

1924

Don’t mistake these bottom-tier rankings as a declaration that the stadiums are poor. Now that Northwestern’s old Ryan Field is gone, no program in the conference has a truly bad home venue. Ross-Ade Stadium has a clear identity when Purdue is good, especially during the Jeff Brohm era from 2017-22. Still, the building itself leaves much to be desired. Much of the stadium is more than 100 years old, and it shows.

15. Huntington Bank Stadium (Minnesota Golden Gophers)

Capacity:

50,805

Opened

:

2009

Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium has a chance to rise in these rankings. Its on-campus location and clear college feel are far superior to the program’s former home, the Metrodome, from 1982-2008.

14. Memorial Stadium (
Illinois Fighting Illini
)

Capacity:

60,670

Opened

:

1923

Illinois delivered arguably the best season in Memorial Stadium history in 2024, finishing with 10 wins and a No. 16 national ranking. The stadium itself is fine. It blends in with many other Midwest venues. Illinois delivering on sky-high expectations in 2025 could see the stadium’s in-game environment improve, which would help this ranking.

14. Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium (
Northwestern Wildcats
)

Capacity:

12,023

Opened:

2024 (temporary)

Northwestern’s temporary lakefront venue is almost as much of a practice field as it is a Big Ten football stadium. However, it deserves points for its unique feel. The views of Lake Michigan are terrific and the stadium environment is far better than the old Ryan Field, even with a 12,000-seat capacity and high ticket prices.

12. Memorial Stadium (Indiana Hoosiers)

Capacity:

52,626

Opened:

1960

Indiana’s stadium falls into a category with Illinois: Midwest venues that all feel and look the same. Indiana’s Memorial Stadium has a bit more potential than the Illini’s Memorial Stadium, due to the fan turnout and enthusiasm during Curt Cignetti’s record-setting first year in charge. This venue is one to watch entering 2025.

11. Spartan Stadium (Michigan State Spartans)

Capacity:

75,005

Opened:

1923

Spartan Stadium is a Big Ten classic. It creates a unique game-day feel, which is an important data point for this ranking. Michigan State’s biggest issue at the moment is catching back up to the conference’s best.

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Spartans Wire

10. L.A Memorial Coliseum (USC
Trojans
)

Capacity:

77,500

Opened

:

1923

L.A. Memorial Coliseum would rank among the top venues in the Big Ten if non-football events were considered. The venue has hosted two Summer Olympics (1932 and 1984 — plus another upcoming in 2028), the Los Angeles Rams (1946-79, 2016-19), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-61), a Super Bowl (I) and more. Unfortunately, USC football struggles to bring the same terrific in-game environment that those events did.

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Trojans Wire

9. Michigan Stadium (Michigan Wolverines)

Capacity:

107,601

Opened:

1927

As we noted last year, Michigan Stadium is the most overrated of any venue in the sport. It is the largest stadium in the country. But since the stadium was built out more than up, a significant chunk of those seats are located a significant distance from the field itself. Michigan’s program history and success give this building significant history, which counts toward this ranking. But the actual in-game environment is not close to the conference’s best.

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Wolverines Wire

8. Memorial Stadium (Nebraska
Cornhuskers
)

Capacity:

85,458

Opened:

1923

Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium can be one of the sport’s best venues when the Cornhuskers are good. Of course, the program has performed below expectations nearly every year since joining the Big Ten in 2011. The venue’s ranking receives a minor downgrade for the number of empty seats during the
program’s record sellout streak
.

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Cornhuskers Wire

7. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa Hawkeyes)

Capacity:

69,250

Opened:

1929

Kinnick Stadium has become a Big Ten classic. It creates a fantastic in-game environment, has a clear identity and importantly, has established a terrific tradition: the “Hawkeye Wave.” Its No. 7 ranking has much to do with the quality of the conference’s other venues.

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Hawkeyes Wire

6. Husky Stadium (Washington Huskies)

Capacity:

70,138

Opened:

1920

It’s hard to beat Husky Stadium’s backdrop, architecture, in-game environment and history. The stadium should be an immediate addition to any Big Ten fan’s must-visit list. It’s one of the true gems of the sport.

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Huskies Wire

5. Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin
Badgers
)

Capacity:

80,321

Opened:

1917

Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium checks every necessary box. It is unique, rich with history, fosters a terrific in-game environment and has well-known traditions. All the venue is missing is a College Football Playoff game or two, an event that will showcase it on a national stage.

4. Autzen Stadium (Oregon
Ducks
)

Capacity:

54,000

Opened:

1967

Autzen Stadium was on full display in 2024 as the Ducks went 13-0 during the regular season and captured the Big Ten title. Its atmosphere is impressive for a 54,000-seat stadium. Thanks to that environment and the team being a perennial conference contender, it should continue to be one of the toughest places to play in the sport.

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Ducks Wire

3. Beaver Stadium (Penn State Nittany Lions)

Capacity:

106,572

Opened:

1960

Beaver Stadium’s atmosphere and the home-field advantage it creates are second to none. The stadium combines sheer size with distinct architecture that gives it a unique feel — different from Michigan Stadium. During Penn State’s playoff win over SMU last season, we saw Beaver Stadium at its peak.

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Nittany Lions Wire

2. Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Buckeyes)

Capacity:

102,780

Opened:

1922

Not much needs to be written about Ohio Stadium. Like Beaver Stadium, it puts unique touches on a 100,000-seat stadium. That creates one of the best game-day environments in the world, regardless of the sport.

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Buckeyes Wire

1. Rose Bowl Stadium (UCLA
Bruins
)

Capacity:

89,702

Opened:

1922

This ranking doesn’t have much to do with the Rose Bowl during UCLA home games, which can often lack energy and volume. The ranking also considers the Rose Bowl Game, arguably the best annual event on the college football calendar. The stadium would rank closer to the L.A. Coliseum if the Rose Bowl game were ignored.

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UCLA Wire

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