The Big Ten has some of the largest, most iconic stadiums not only in college football, but the entire country. From the famed Horseshoe at Ohio State, to Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley, to the Big House, the scenes inside stadiums in the midwest don’t take a backseat to any other conference.
The conference actually boasts three of the top four largest stadiums in all of college football, with Ohio Stadium right there, all exceeding 100,00 in seating capacity.
The “Ole Horseshoe” on the banks of the Olentangy in Columbus, as the late, famed broadcaster Keith Jackson would say, is a staple of college football, with many using it as a template for their own designs. It was completed in 1922 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974.
But there are also those that aren’t massive and venerable and feel more like a large high school atmosphere. Some are more like a bandbox with opposing fans traveling to gobble up what little space there is.
Here is s listing of all the Big Ten stadiums and their seating capacities for you to impress your friends with should the topic ever arise (and if not, find a way to slide it into the conversation).
Ryan Field – Northwestern (Evanston, IL)
Oct 28, 2017; Evanston, IL, USA; A general wide view outside of Ryan Field with the fall trees and Chicago skyline prior to a game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Northwestern Wildcats. Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1926
Seating Capacity
47,130
TCF Bank Stadium – Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
Oct. 2, 2010; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A panorama shot of TCF Bank Stadium prior to a game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Northwestern Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
2009
Seating Capacity
50,805
SHI Stadium – Rutgers (Piscataway, NJ)
Drone view of Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. Rutgers announced that it reached a deal with SHI International Corp., a global IT provider, for naming rights to the facility. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1994
Seating Capacity
52,454
Memorial Stadium – Indiana (Bloomington, IN)
Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., hours before kickoff of the 2019 Heroes Game between Iowa and Nebraska. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1960
Seating Capacity
52,626
Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium – Maryland (College Park, MD)
Sep 15, 2018; College Park, MD, USA; The official BIG 10 logo is painted on the grass at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Credit: Art Pittman-USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1950
Seating Capacity
54,000
Ross-Ade Stadium – Purdue (West Lafayette, IN)
Inside Ross-Ade Stadium prior to a NCAA football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 in West Lafayette. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1924
Seating Capacity
57,236
Memorial Stadium – Illinois (Champaign, IL)
Dec 5, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; A general view during the first half in a game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium. Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1923
Seating Capacity
60,670
Kinnick Stadium – Iowa (Iowa City, IA)
A Tigerhawk logo is pictured at the 50 yard line while construction continues during a media tour of the north end zone, Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1929
Seating Capacity
69,250
Spartan Stadium – Michigan State (East Lansing, MI)
Spartan Stadium on the campus in East Lansing on Monday, August 10, 2020.
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1923
Seating Capacity
75,005
Camp Randall Stadium – Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
The field is ready before the Badgers game against Purdue at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Photo by Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1895 (fully functioning in 1917)
Seating Capacity
80,321
Memorial Stadium – Nebraska (Lincoln, NE)
Dec 1, 2020; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Memorial Stadium is seen before a game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the South Dakota Coyotes at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1923
Seating Capacity
90,000
Ohio Stadium (the “Horseshoe”) – Ohio State (Columbus, OH)
June 17, 2020; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio Stadium, also known as the Horseshoe, the Shoe, and the House That Harley Built, is on the campus of The Ohio State University. Credit: Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch via USA TODAY NETWORK
Year Opened
1922
Seating Capacity
102,780
Beaver Stadium – Penn State (University Park, PA)
Ohio State Buckeyes players warn up in a nearly empty Beaver Stadium before the NCAA football game at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1960
Seating Capacity
106,572
Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”) – Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Friday, April 3, 2020. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Year Opened
1927
Seating Capacity
107,601 https://buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/lists/best-big-ten-helmets-ranked-ohio-state-football-michigan-wolverines/ Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
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