Matt Kupec: Best College Football Stadiums

Matt Kupec: Best College Football Stadiums
Best College Football Stadiums
mattkupecassociates.com
This past week I had the chance to visit Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois
campus for the first time. The Fighting Illini are not a power in the Big 10 and have not
competed in many games of importance over the years but I have enjoyed seeing the
occasional highlight from an Illini game on football TV shows.
When driving up to Memorial Stadium I was very
impressive with the outside of the football stadium.
Columns on the outer walls made me think of the Los
Angeles Coliseum which is home to the USC Trojans. The
Inside of the stadium is somewhat of a different story
with lots of concrete, field turf and a facility lacking in
character. I do believe with some minor renovations it
could be a pretty cool place to play. Ghosts of the late
great Red Grange still run strong in the football environment.
Visiting Memorial Stadium made me think about the best football stadiums I have either
been in as a player or a fan. Here is my top #10 list and the rationale behind my rankings:

#1. UCLA (Rose Bowl Stadium – 90,888 seating capacity)
 I consider the Rose Bowl to be the best stadium in all of
college football. I have seen three games there
including the 2005 Texas win over USC to capture the
national championship and 2009 National Championship
games in which Texas fell to Alabama.
 I grew up loving to watch the Rose Bowl on New Year’s
Day when the major bowls still played their games on
the same day to start the new year.
 I love the beautiful grass, the hills in the background, the
circular stadium and history of the place.

#2. Notre Dame (Notre Dame Stadium – 77,662 seating capacity)
 I grew up watching Notre Dame highlights on Sunday
with Lindsay Nelson and Paul Horning providing
commentary.
 Watching ND legends like Terry Hanratty, Jim Seymour
and so many others filled my childhood dreams of being
a football player.
 The gold helmets. The plain uniforms. No colors in the
end zone but diagonal white stripes. And real and
beautiful grass. The echo’s of Knute Rockne and
Touchdown Jesus outside.
 A majestic place that, unfortunately, has been tainted by
the installation of field tur. It is painful to watch ND on
television these days. Shameful!

#3. University of North Carolina (Kenan Memorial Stadium – 51,000
seating capacity)
 I first visited Kenan Stadium as a fourteen year 8th grader
when my family dropped off my older brother Chris on the
campus of UNC. Chris was an All-American HS QB and
picked the Tar Heels from among his many suitors.
 I was immediately drawn to Kenan Stadium because of its
beauty and setting nestled in the middle of campus
surrounded by pine trees. Those feelings grew when I
wound up being the four-year starting QB for the Heels in
the late 1970’s. The Bell Tower overlooking the Stadium
and the trees surrounding the stadium continue its beauty.
 However, like ND, UNC installed artificial turf this year to
replace the beautiful natural grass. And the hedges were
removed. Now, Kenan is all concrete and artificial turf.
Helping me in my pain, though, is that my friend Mack
Brown is the Head Coach again and he is the all-time best
person as a coach I have ever met. UNC was smart to bring
him home!

#4. University of Texas (Darrel K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium –
100.119 seating capacity)
 Whereas I grew up a Notre Dame fan, brother Chris
grew up rooting for the Texas Longhorns.
 But it wasn’t before Mack Brown became Head
Coach at Texas that I attended my first game in
Austin.
 Wow! What a great experience. I saw many great
games in Texas as Coach Brown had an incredible
ten-year year building Texas as one of the nation’s
great powers.
 Texas loves its football and under Coach Brown the
stadium underwent incredible expansion and
improvement driving its capacity to over 100,000.
When the “Eyes of Texas” plays, it is truly a goose-
bump type of experience.

#5. Clemson University (Memorial Stadium – 81,500 seating capacity)
 In a town of 28,000 Clemson has created a Saturday
scene with its football team that is as good as any in the
country.
 It starts with the Tiger paws painted on all roads leading
into the town and the University. Then it continues to a
game day experience that is unmatched.
 I had the privilege of playing at Clemson twice – in my
freshman and junior years as UNC’s QB. What a great
experience – the crowds were so loud that you couldn’t
audible plays at the line of scrimmage. And the C-L-E-M-
S-O-N cheer when each section of Memorial Stadium
plays its part is truly incredible.
 This was my favorite stadium to play by far!!

#6. Ohio State (Ohio Stadium – 102,344 seating capacity)
 I grew up watching the great Ohio State Buckeye teams
under legendary coach Woody Hayes. Despite the “three
yards and a cloud of dust” offense, I admired players like QB
Rex Kern and so many others.
 I loved the Ohio State Buckeyes uniforms, particularly the
Buckeyes placed on the helmets for outstanding
performance. I can’t imagine the pride the players felt when
putting on the Ohio State uniform.
 Brother Chris and I had the chance to attend the Texas at
Ohio State game in 2005 when #2 Texas beat #4 Ohio State
26-22 in a classic. Chris and I took in the game on the Texas
sidelines.
 The crowd, the RV’s parked by the thousands in the parking
lots, the tailgating, the band playing outside the stadium.
And then the incredible roar when the band stormed the
field before the game. And, of course, the dotting of the “I”
when playing the fight song at halftime. What an incredible
experience!

#7. U.S. Military Academy (Army) – (Michie Stadium – 38,000 seating
capacity)
 I played at Army during my senior year at UNC. We beat
Army 31-0 in what was sort of a homecoming for me as I
returned to my native state to play against Army. I even
had a major story written about me in Long Island Newsday
on Sunday.
 What an incredible setting. Michie Stadium overlooks the
Hudson River. The pageantry of a game vs. the US Military
Academy is unlike any other. The Cadets were awesome.
During one timeout, I remember the Cadets swinging their
coats in the air in unison as the fight song was played.
 One side note, on the plane into upstate NY (Westchester
County), my UNC teammate Lawrence Taylor – yes, that
Lawrence Taylor – looked out the window of the plane –
and upon seeing trees on the ground, and knowing that I
grew up on Long Island, yelled to me, “hey Matt, NY has
trees! Yes, Lawrence, NY has a few trees its not all
downtown NY City!!

#8. Auburn University (Jordan-Hare Stadium -87,451 seating capacity)
 My experience with Auburn University football and its
stadium is mostly limited to many, many games watching
Auburn play from Jordan-Hare Stadium. The pageantry,
the colors, the beauty and the quality of the football
always made it feel big time.
 Well, when I was working at UNC, I had the chance to
attend the Tennessee @ Auburn football game as a guest
of Dave Bronczek, the CEO of FedEx. Dave had a son
attend UNC and two daughters attend Auburn. He was a
big supporter of Auburn. So, we flew into Auburn and had
an awesome time at the game.
 The highlight for me was the cheers practice right before
the game and the real Golden Eagle flying into the
ceremony. So cool

#9. University of Southern California (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum –
seating capacity)
 USC, like Ohio State and Notre Dame, is stepped in
tradition. Tailback U for a while! Great run of QB’s,
including numerous Heisman Trophy winners. The great
fight song, the school’s colors, the uniforms and the
sound of Keith Jackson calling so many of their games!
 I traveled to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a
game years ago and was simply blown away by the
experience. I love the columns of the Coliseum. I felt
like I was in Rome watching an event from the Roman
Coliseum.
 And I loved the sound of the band constantly playing
when the Trojans were on defense.

#10. University of Alabama (Bryant-Denny Stadium - 101,821 seating
 Like Auburn, most of my memories of Alabama football come
from watching numerous games on the television. I think of
Keith Jackson saying “AlaBama,” tear away jerseys worn by
players like Johnny Musso, the simple but elegant uniforms,
and the national championships.
 My direct experience with Bryant-Denny Stadium came when
the University of Alabama was recruiting me to be Vice
Chancellor for Advancement. I went to Tuscaloosa to meet
with the President and senior administrators.
 On the morning of my interviews, I went for a jog on campus
and was able to get into unlocked Bryant-Denny Stadium and
take a job on the field. At one point, I imagined myself as a
wide receiver and ran and out and up, caught the imaginary
pass and raced into the end zone for the game winning
touchdown against Auburn!
 The mind is a great thing! The experience at Bryant-Denny
was overwhelming, even as I ran that imaginary pass pattern in
front of over 100,000 fans!

About the Author (mattkupecassociates.com)
 Matt Kupec is a fundraising professional with 32 years of significant
higher education development experience. He has directed three
major university fundraising campaigns and nearly $5 billion has been
raised under his leadership. He has led the fundraising programs at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hofstra University,
Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and HelpMeSee, a New
York City based non-profit. He is currently serving as Senior In-House
Fundraising Counsel for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
 Matt is a former record-breaking four year starting quarterback for the
UNC Tar Heels. During his career he set 19 season and career
passing records. Two of which still stand — most consecutive games
with a TD pass and most wins as a starting QB. Matt also set the ACC
record for TD passes his senior year at UNC. Matt was named MVP of
the 1977 Liberty Bowl and the 1979 Gator Bowl becoming the 1st
player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to be named MVP of two
bowl games.

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