Texas' Best College Football Stadiums

Once again, I am forced to stay up until 7 am tonight (as I work nights and had tonight off), and with some time on my hands, I thought I might create a post about where you all would rank Texas' College (Cotton Bowl not included, as no team calls this stadium "home" currently)  Football stadiums (in terms of capacity, gameday atmosphere, appearance, structural integrity, heritage, view, noise level, parking, field surface, bowls played in stadium, whatever else needs to be included, etc. etc. etc.). I know this might seem like a dumb post, as UT and A&M are a #1, and #2 off the bat, but after that? (I am not just putting these stadiums in order based on capacity).

IMO:

1.) University of Texas (Cap. 100,000+ , said to be over 103,000 for next year with permanent bleacher installed, making it 3rd largest sporting venue in US) -

Pros: Looks amazing, huge seating cap, recently upgraded, great gameday atmosphere with many clubs and associations tailgating in its shadow (on campus as well), great view of Austin and the state capitol building, new field turf being installed, home of 2nd winningest team in college football history, giganto scoreboard, cool intro lol.

Cons: Not too loud, very little parking AROUND the stadium and in the immediate area for tailgating (as compared to other Texas schools), not much else to report here.

2.) Texas A&M University (Cap. 83,002 #16 in US) -

Pros: Great gameday atmosphere, very loud, home of the 12th man, room for expansion, good tradition, plans for bigger scoreboard in works, good view of the field from almost any seat, on campus, can walk on field after game, best fly overs in the country, before every game.

Cons: Looks like someone built it with giant grey lincoln logs, little parking/tailgating, seperated sections that make the stadium look like it was pieced together, bat guano, etc.

Wasnt really sure how to organize the next 4, but here we go:

3.) Rice Stadium (Cap. 70,000 #45 in US) -

Pros: Once home to a Super Bowl, Houston Cougars, and the Houston Oilers, great tailgating/parking, on campus, relatively new turf installed, brand new fieldhouse upgrades completed, amazing view of Houston and surrounding areas, amazing size of stadium for how small the university is.

Cons: Not the prettiest stadium by any means, very few fans, very quiet stadium, little or no points for any type of heritage college-wise, tiny scoreboard (like movie theatre small), parts still undergoing construction/renovation, tarps on end zones, Rice plays here.

4.) Sun Bowl Stadium (Cap. 51,500 #89 in US) -

Pros: Home of the Sun Bowl game yearly (one of the longest running bowls in college football history) and TX vs. Nation Bowl Game, amazing view of mountians, very loud stadium/noise level, stadium itself looks pretty up to date and nice, excellent field turf, on campus.

Cons: Little or no room for parking/tailgating near the stadium, horrible sound/visual implementation (scoreboard/speakers), closest US sporting venue to any national border (pro or con?), nothing to really write home about on their football team, tarps on end zones.

5.) Jones AT&T Stadium (Cap. 53,000 #85 in US) -

Pros: Loudest stadium I have ever been to, amazing atmosphere/tailgating, on campus, good parking, currently being expanded to include 2000 more seats, decent turf.

Cons: Windy, in Lubbock, looks exactly like Floyd-Casey Stadium without the tarps and different colors (seriously, look a the pics), scoreboard, meh, bleachers break off almost every game, small considering the size of student body. Was considering moving this one to #3 and the rest down....

6.) Amon G. Carter Stadium (Cap. 44,008 #103 in US)-

Pros: On campus, great heritage with TCU football team/players who have walked field, good gameday atmosphere, currently being renovated/updated, stadium looks pretty good, awesome grass field, home of Armed Forces Bowl.

Cons: Bad parking, average noise level, last sell out over 3 years ago, parts of stadium literally falling apart (ie. South endzone bleachers).

7.) Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Cap. 32,000 #123 in US) -

Pros: Brand spaking new stadium (opened 2000), good size for size of school, on campus, looks amazing, good turf, history carry-over from before 1984 and previous stadium?

Cons: No real sense of gameday atmosphere/tailgating areas, crummy parking, quiet stadium, known more for its high school contests than SMU football, history carry-over from before 1984 and previous stadium?

Got the nod over Floyd Casey due to year of opening/facilities.

8.) Floyd Casey Stadium (Cap. 50,000 #94 in US)-

Pros: Large for size of student body, great parking/areas for tailgating.

Cons: Home of Baylor, 4 miles from campus, has tarps over end zones, when was their last sell out? average stadium noise level, teams play on "SportGrass," (what the heck is that?), looks to me like Jones AT&T stadium with different colors and playing surfaces, any traditions?

9.) Robertson Stadium (Cap. 32,000 #123 in US)-

Pros: Was the largest high school stadium in the nation in 1940 with a cap. of 20,000, lol, home of Houston Oilers for 5 years, current home of 2 time MLS Champs Houston Dynamo, has palm trees in both endzones, awesome view of downtown Houston, great parking/tailgating areas, on campus, home of Shrine Bowl Game.

Cons: Worst stadium I have ever been to in terms of seating arrangements (section bars everywhere), old old old grass playing surface, outside of stadium looks like the Museum of Natural History at the Texas State Fair, quiet stadium (I heard my yell echo one game off the other side of the stadium), gameday atmosphere anyone?

10.) Fouts Field (Cap. 30,000 #139 in US)-

Pros: Awesome omnigrass turf, good parking, not too old (1954).

Cons: About to be demolished before 2011 so they can build a parking lot and 2 dorms (seriously), has a track around the field, no real game atmosphere or heritage, quiet stadium, home of UNT, smallest D1 stadium in country (Tied with Troy and Boise State), not on campus, nothing really to say about appearance or quality of stadium.

And finally,

#11.) Alamodome (Cap. 60,000?, put at #11 because no team yet inhabits it, but it is the future home of the D1 2014 UTSA Roadrunners) -

Pros: Future home of Larry Coker and UTSA RR, in downtown SA, will be only covered college football stadium in Texas, home of Alamo Bowl, good parking, pretty loud venue.

Cons: Field is getting old, multi-use stadium, not on campus, no gameday atmosphere or tradition yet.

So there you have it, just some quick thoughts on each stadium. Feel free to add your own comments, agree or more likely, disagree. Hey, its the off season.....