Top ten colleges for football fans

With the season now underway, we’re excited to announce our list of top ten schools for college applicants seeking the definitive football fan experience.

Our college admissions experts selected the diverse range of schools based on a mix of athletic, academic and social data, including team ranking, admissions acceptance rate, availability of student tickets and overall school spirit.

The ten colleges and universities that made the cut are:

• University of Alabama has gone undefeated in its last two seasons, won the national title last year and been ranked first in the country this year in polls. Football and tailgating is basically a religion in ’Bama – and the 101,821 seats in Denny Stadium have sold out for every game since 1988. Religion, indeed.
• Harvard University might be known for its rigorous academics but the Crimson also take their athletics seriously – indeed, modern day football was born in the Ivy League. This year’s team ranked first in Ivy polls but free student tickets are still plentiful. Harvard and Yale show down annually for bragging rights in “The Game.”
• Lafayette College offers fans a smaller collegiate setting in the Pennsylvania countryside (its stadium seats just 13,750). But the school’s Leopards won the Patriot League title from 2004-2006 and “The Rivalry” – an annual meeting against nearby Lehigh – is the most played, and longest running, rivalry in college football.
• University of Oklahoma has been called the most prestigious football program in the country by ESPN, and students can attend games for free. Prepare to see future NFL stars; the Sooners had three of the five top players selected in this year’s draft. The intense Red River Rivalry vs. University of Texas was once called the “Shootout.”
• University of Michigan has the distinction of winning more games than any other football team. Although student season tickets are $207, a game in the Big House is an experience – the stadium holds the all-time attendance record of 113,090 fans. The annual Ohio State game has been called the top rivalry in all of sports by ESPN.
• University of Notre Dame has had 7 Heisman trophy winners and the most All-American players. From the team that brought the world “Rudy,” students feel an uncanny commitment to the school – even though season tickets will set them back $245. Independent of a specific conference, the Irish also have numerous rivals.
• University of Southern California has had more players enter the NFL than any other school in the country. The Trojans have also brought 11 national titles back to their home in sunny Los Angeles, where they fill their 92,572-seat stadium with roaring fans – especially when playing cross-town rival UCLA for the Victory Bell.
• Stanford University has won the Directors’ Cup (given to the D1 school with the most overall success in the NCAA) every year since 1994. Student tickets to football games are free and generally easy to come by – except for “The Game” against UC Berkeley in which Cardinal fever sweeps The Farm in a frenzied week of celebration.
• University of Washington hosts what may be the most unique tailgate in America. Thousands of fans gather on boats on Lake Washington before home games – just off the shore of Husky Stadium, which some claim was also the birthplace of a spectator tradition still found in nearly every football contest today: the wave.
• Williams College has 23 football championship titles in the NESCAC, a league of small private colleges, and has won the Directors’ Cup (for D3 schools) for the last 12 years. Weston Field has hosted the team for 135 years, and the school’s New England location all but guarantees blue skies and brisk temps – perfect spectator weather.