The worst college football stadium?

[Seahawks]

Why is that Press Box so big?

[clenz]

Yes, E-W fields will have on team facing into the sun during an evening game. N-S field will have that exact same thing during the entire afternoon as one team is looking south.

Tough shit.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

1) I'm thrilled (and shocked) we've locked into a final 3 and UNH is not among them.

2) Isn't a new stadium for Albany on the horizon?

[CoachL]

This is a thread about the worst college stadiums.

Well, technically the worst college stadium.

Alignment is one factor to consider. East-West is inferior to North-South, everyone knows that.

Inferior? For whom? The fans? The players? The coaches?

Fans: We've read in this thread about the sun beating down on the poor, suffering fans. A north-south alignment puts the burning sun directly in the faces of one side of a stadium during early season afternoon games, and keeps the other side out of the warming sun during late season afternoon games. Night games... no factor.

Players: An east-west alignment puts the sun directly in the face of one team or another during alternating quarters during afternoon games. This is only a potential "problem" on kicks and passing plays, and it affects only a few of the 22 players on the field at any given time. Those rough, tough baseball players deal with the sun all the time. I think that football players might be able to cope, as well. Night games... no factor.

Coaches: As my screen name implies, I am a football coach. Personally, I hate standing on the sideline of a north-south field during an afternoon game if I'm on the side of the field with the sun directly in my face. It is a competitive advantage for the "shade" team that does not change each quarter. Night games... no factor.

It's been years since I played, and I don't remember the direction of the sun ever being a factor in a game in which I played, but as a coach and a fan I prefer east-west fields. So, not "everyone knows that."

...because they didn't have anywhere else to put it. Same goes for Duquesne. As an urban campus they're locked in a tight spot, and the only place they could put it was an almost perfectly east-west lot crammed between two buildings.

At Duquesne, the building on the west side of the field mitigates the "setting sun" issue a great deal. The field is generally in complete shade by the second half.

...and the fact that Duquense's practice field is also due east-west probably provides an extra home field advantage, but we're looking for bad stadiums and that's a check in the minus column. At least you put the track around the practice field instead of the real field. That's a check in the plus column.

Duquesne doesn't have a "practice field". The other field is the intramural field. The football team never sets foot on that field unless there is some sort of major emergency/event on Rooney. That hasn't happened this year.

Could be that that whole concrete expanse doesn't really impact the viewing experience much, but as a backdrop it ain't fall foliage in rural New England or snow-capped Rocky Mountains or an Arizona desert landscape. It isn't that industrial mess across from Chattanooga's stadium either though, so it's got that going for it.

All the stuff at the bottom of the Bluff has zero impact on the fans' viewing experience. There is the fall foliage in the hills on the South Side of the river, but point taken. However, the lack of rural New England fall foliage or snow-capped Rocky Mountains or an Arizona desert landscape pretty much gives negative points to the vast majority of stadiums in the U.S.!

Where do you tailgate?

That is a point of contention. Bluff Street could/should be blocked off for tailgating, but being a "dry" Catholic campus the administration apparently is uncomfortable with "freedom of beverage" during traditional tailgates. A university-controlled "picnic area" is set up next to the field prior to games.

Who would you suggest should be in the bottom 3 instead of Duquesne? Albany, Jacksonville and...? Duquesne could be a perfectly acceptable viewing experience and still be bottom 3. I'm sure there's a charm to Jacksonville's setup as well. Albany... not sure what the charm of their deal would be.

This thread has never defined what makes a stadium "the worst". Is it fan experience? Is it player experience? Is it size? Is it a track around the field? Is it the bathrooms? I'm sure that "coaches' experience" is not really a consideration, but I feel that it should be! Is it the beauty (or lack thereof) of the area surrounding the stadium? Is the location (on or off-campus) a consideration? As UAalum72 said:

But by the standards of most on this forum, how many NEC and Pioneer fields besides Drake, Welcome and maybe San Diego would NOT be in the bottom 25? Most under 5,000 seats, many one-sided, many with tracks.

Also, since this thread is titled: "The worst college football stadium" should we not include DII, DIII, and NAIA stadiums in our search? I've seen lower-division fields that the (renovated) Jacksonville field puts to shame, (i.e. that cow pasture at DII Pace University).

In conclusion re: Duquesne's Rooney Field...

Positives:

Rooney Field has a state-of-the art playing surface; brand-new permanent seating for the fans that is right on top of the action; has lights for night games; brand-spanking-new bathrooms for the fans; offers fans panoramic views of the Monongahela River and the South Side of Pittsburgh in one direction, and the very attractive, manicured Duquesne campus in the other. New, clean, rust-free, splinter-free, outhouse-free, running track and divot-free ON CAMPUS field located on a bluff next to downtown Pittsburgh.

Negative:

Small. Very small. Let's say tiny. Some folks have a problem with the east-west alignment of the field. Did I mention that it was small? Real "stands" only on one side of the field (but great seats are available on the visitors' side). Parking would be an issue if more people showed up. It's too quaint for words. Tailgating is restricted by the administration. There are pads on the building on the east side of the field since it is so close to the endzone. It's lacking a true "field house" with state-of-the-art facilities for the team(s) and coaches (but one is being planned at the east end of the field).

Is Rooney Field a "bottom 3"? Not by a looooooooooong shot! A "bottom 25" in the FCS? As UAalum72 said, by the standards of many in this forum, probably. A "bottom 25" in the entire college football universe? No way.

Carry on!

[danefan]

2) Isn't a new stadium for Albany on the horizon?

Yes. RFQ was issued in August for a 6,000 Seat Phase I.

But in all honesty, we have no clue when that's going to be done. They say 2012 season but I suspect we'll play the first home game in 2013.

[CoachL]

Why is that Press Box so big?

To accommodate the hordes of sports reporters covering Duquesne football games, of course!

[Dane96]

Just to clarify a point. The E-W and N-S arrangements also depend on physical geography. For example...Albany's location in the Hudson Valley adds to the "mystique" of the weather conditions that are affected by position of the field. The notorious air flow into the Capital District has created a medical phenomenon among Captial District docs called the "Hudson Valley Dip Drip."

Basically, the air and wind get caught in a valley between four mountain ranges.

[89Hen]

There are MANY NFL, NCAA, and High School stadiums/football fields that have an east-west alignment.

FWIW, I just went on google maps and there are 6 outdoor NFL stadiums that aren't N-S and of those 6, only 2 have a more E-W layout than NW-SE but still fall short of being a true E-W. M&T in Baltimore and Qualcomm in SD.

[ODUsmitty]

Here are the facilities at SDSU, as that thread magically reappeared today.

If this does not get consideration, I do not know what would........

[bandl]

Anyone happen to watch the Cowboys/Titans game last week? Notice the sun that was directly in the defenders eyes (Titans) at the end of the game? I wonder if the direction and layout of the stadium was intentional.

[93henfan]

Anyone happen to watch the Cowboys/Titans game last week? Notice the sun that was directly in the defenders eyes (Titans) at the end of the game? I wonder if the direction and layout of the stadium was intentional.

If it was, it was stupid. I noticed the same thing and it appeared Romo was most affected, as Vince Young already has natural eye black.

[danefan]

Just to clarify a point. The E-W and N-S arrangements also depend on physical geography. For example...Albany's location in the Hudson Valley adds to the "mystique" of the weather conditions that are affected by position of the field. The notorious air flow into the Capital District has created a medical phenomenon among Captial District docs called the "Hudson Valley Dip Drip."

Basically, the air and wind get caught in a valley between four mountain ranges.

I thought you got that at Sneaky Pete's and the Post.

[Dane96]

A) I hate sneaky pete's; and

B) I think the alcohol and antibiotics killed anything I may have "received" from, or because of, the Post....

[JayJ79]

Here are the facilities at SDSU, as that thread magically reappeared today.

If this does not get consideration, I do not know what would........

Technically, I believe that is OUTSIDE the stadium, for the tailgaters. And thus isn't part of the stadium itself.
And such facilities aren't really any worse than the typical portajohns that most places have in the tailgating lots.

But I could be wrong, as I generally don't have to use the facilities at football games, and didn't have to during my trip to Brookings last season.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Just to clarify a point. The E-W and N-S arrangements also depend on physical geography. For example...Albany's location in the Hudson Valley adds to the "mystique" of the weather conditions that are affected by position of the field. The notorious air flow into the Capital District has created a medical phenomenon among Captial District docs called the "Hudson Valley Dip Drip."

Basically, the air and wind get caught in a valley between four mountain ranges.

So you're saying Albany sucks?

[Seahawks]

But by the standards of most on this forum, how many NEC and Pioneer fields besides Drake, Welcome and maybe San Diego would NOT be in the bottom 25? Most under 5,000 seats, many one-sided, many with tracks.

I disagree. We're confusing "size" with "what's bad". Wagner's capacity is about 3,300 (combination of fixed seats and aluminum benches). Quite adequate right now for a school with 2,000 students. All on one side of the field and with a track around it. Very similar to Monmouth's stadium. It's about 10 years old, with a Field Turf surface and a new large video scoreboard. All financed through alumni contributions. And a great view of the New York harbor.

The Wagner College Touchdown Club is currently raising funds for Stadium Lighting and expanded locker rooms.

There is nothing bad about it.

[89Hen]

I disagree. We're confusing "size" with "what's bad". Wagner's capacity is about 3,300 (combination of fixed seats and aluminum benches). Quite adequate right now for a school with 2,000 students. All on one side of the field and with a track around it. Very similar to Monmouth's stadium. It's about 10 years old, with a Field Turf surface and a new large video scoreboard. All financed through alumni contributions. And a great view of the New York harbor.

The Wagner College Touchdown Club is currently raising funds for Stadium Lighting and expanded locker rooms.

There is nothing bad about it.

Wait, you're making a case for it being good?

[clenz]

Size doesn't make it a bad stadium, but damn.

The FCS teams are screaming for resepct and a lot of schools have stadiums smaller than fucking D3 schools.

[danefan]

Size doesn't make it a bad stadium, but damn.

The FCS teams are screaming for resepct and a lot of schools have stadiums smaller than fucking D3 schools.

Who's screaming for respect based on the size of their stadium Clenz?

[∞∞∞]

Size doesn't make it a bad stadium, but damn.

The FCS teams are screaming for resepct and a lot of schools have stadiums smaller than **** D3 schools.

Well, at least nothing comes close to this:


As for Jacksonville, they should do something like this:


Not much, but it'd be an improvement.

[clenz]

Size doesn't make it a bad stadium, but damn.

The FCS teams are screaming for resepct and a lot of schools have stadiums smaller than fucking D3 schools.

Who's screaming for respect based on the size of their stadium Clenz?

Not based on size, but just in general.

We complain that we get treated like we are "small time" in the FCS, and get called Directional State University's, get no respect for the product on the field that we produce, and just no respect in general.


The FCS brand doesn't like being called "small" time, yet there are many D3 schools with stadiums and crowds larger than some FCS schools

[tampajag]

I still stand by my pick. You can't beat it (old scoreboard, falling apart stands, bad field, huge mosquitoes). Anybody who has played a game at MVSU will say the same.

[clenz]

I'm doing some real quick checking.

In 2009 there were 103 division 3 schools that had a higher attendance than Bryant.

There is a Division 3 school that would have been top 50 last season in FCS in attendance.


Hell, Willie punted in front of more people at his home games than something like 30 of the FCS schools.

[free7694]

I'm quite surprised no one has mentioned Nottingham Field yet.

[Seahawks]

Wait, you're making a case for it being good?

Yes. What's wrong with it?