Sports Travel

The 10 Oldest College Football Stadiums in the FBS

From Bobby Dodd to the Rose Bowl — the venues that built the game.

Baseball may be called America's pastime, but college football is one of the last major sports that still treats its history like something worth keeping in place.

Where professional teams often replace old venues with brand-new stadiums, college football has traditionally taken a different route. It expands. It renovates. It modernizes. It adds club seating, video boards, wider concourses, and premium amenities. But in many cases, it does all of that without wiping away the original home field.

That is part of what makes the sport's oldest stadiums so fascinating. They are not just old buildings. They are active landmarks that still host major games, still shape game-day traditions, and still carry the weight of decades of campus history.

Below is a refreshed look at 10 of the oldest active stadiums in FBS college football. To keep the list practical and readable, this article follows the commonly cited opening years associated with each active stadium. As with many historic venues, there can be some gray area between the first use of a site, the first permanent concrete structure, and the current version of the stadium after later renovations.

The 10 Oldest Active FBS Stadiums

Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field — Georgia Tech (1913)

If you are looking for the oldest active stadium in the FBS by commonly cited opening year, Bobby Dodd Stadium is the usual answer. Georgia Tech had played football on the site since 1905, but the first permanent stands went up in 1913. The venue began as Grant Field and, over time, grew from a small home for Georgia Tech students into one of the most distinctive settings in college football. The stadium was renamed for legendary coach Bobby Dodd in 1988, while the playing surface continued to honor Grant Field.

What makes Bobby Dodd different is not just its age. It is the way the stadium sits inside Atlanta, framed by the skyline and tucked into an urban setting that feels unlike the sprawling stadium complexes found at many major programs. Even after more than a century of expansions and modern upgrades, it still feels unmistakably old-school. Today, Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field seats 51,913.

Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field — Mississippi State (1914)

Mississippi State's Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field is one of the oldest active venues in major college football and the oldest by commonly cited opening year in the SEC. The stadium opened in 1914 as New Athletic Field before later becoming Scott Field in honor of Don Magruder Scott, a celebrated Mississippi State athlete. In 2000, the stadium itself was renamed for longtime supporter Floyd Davis Wade Sr.

Like many old Southern venues, Davis Wade did not begin as the large bowl fans know today. It grew in stages, with significant work in the 1930s, major expansions in the mid-20th century, and another major renovation and expansion completed in 2014. The current official capacity is 60,311. Davis Wade is one of those places where the age of the stadium does not make it feel quiet or museum-like. It still feels alive, loud, and entirely central to Mississippi State football.

Nippert Stadium — Cincinnati (1915)

Nippert Stadium is one of the most unusual old stadiums in the sport because it feels as if it is built into the University of Cincinnati rather than simply sitting beside it. The school has used the site since 1901, but the stadium's permanent concrete history dates to 1915. It was dedicated in 1924 as James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium after a donation from the family of James Gamble Nippert, a Cincinnati player who died after suffering a football injury.

Nippert sits below grade and is woven directly into campus, creating one of the most intimate and enclosed environments in the FBS. It currently seats 38,193 for football. Cincinnati's recent rise in stature, including its move into the Big 12, has only added to Nippert's relevance. For a historic stadium, it feels remarkably current.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field — Ole Miss (1915)

Ole Miss opened its football stadium in 1915, and over the decades Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has grown from a modest campus facility into one of the SEC's most recognizable venues. The stadium's layered name reflects its history — originally named for Judge William Hemingway, later expanded to honor legendary head coach Johnny Vaught, and eventually the field itself was named Hollingsworth Field.

For much of its early and mid-century history, the stadium was relatively small compared with some of the conference's biggest stages. That changed through successive rounds of renovation and expansion, including a major expansion that pushed capacity to 64,038 in 2016. It is not just an old field that survived. It is a venue that kept evolving until it became the centerpiece of one of the sport's best-known Saturdays.

Camp Randall Stadium — Wisconsin (1917)

Camp Randall Stadium opened in 1917 and remains one of the most historically resonant venues in college football. The name comes from the site's Civil War history — before it was home to Wisconsin football, Camp Randall served as a Union Army training ground and later as a military camp for Confederate prisoners. That background gives the venue a sense of place that is broader than sports alone.

From a football standpoint, Camp Randall has aged exceptionally well. A south end zone redevelopment completed in 2022 reduced the stadium's capacity from its earlier peak but also brought major upgrades to the experience. The current capacity is 76,057. Age, size, and atmosphere do not always travel together. At Camp Randall, they do.

Boone Pickens Stadium — Oklahoma State (1920)

Boone Pickens Stadium began as Lewis Field in 1920, making it one of the oldest active stadiums in the Big 12. Like several stadiums on this list, it did not begin as an especially large venue. Oklahoma State first built it for roughly 8,000 fans, then expanded it repeatedly over the decades.

The stadium's modern identity is closely tied to the sweeping renovation and expansion work completed in the 2000s, when the venue was reshaped into the steep, enclosed, noise-trapping home field fans know today. A recent seating-bowl upgrade completed for the 2024 season further improved circulation, leg room, and the overall fan experience. The current official capacity is 52,305.

Husky Stadium — Washington (1920)

Opened in 1920, Husky Stadium gives college football one of its oldest venues and one of its most famous natural settings. Washington's home field sits on the shore of Lake Washington, and for generations the view has been part of the experience.

The stadium has gone through multiple major expansions and a massive renovation completed in 2013 that modernized the facility but preserved its defining open-end design. The current seating capacity is 70,138. Husky Stadium is also famous for its acoustics — long before decibel measurements became part of the modern college-football brand machine, this place had a reputation for trapping noise and making life difficult for visiting teams.

David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium — Kansas (1921)

Kansas Memorial Stadium opened in 1921 and stands apart from most college football venues because it was built not only for football, but as a memorial. The stadium was constructed to honor University of Kansas students who died in World War I, and that memorial function remains central to its identity.

Kansas undertook a major reimagining of the facility after the 2023 season and returned in 2025 after completion of Phase 1 of the redevelopment. Capacity for the 2025 season was set at 41,525. That makes Kansas one of the most interesting venues on this list: not just old, but actively being rebuilt for the future.

Neyland Stadium — Tennessee (1921)

Neyland Stadium is the clearest example on this list of what can happen when an old stadium never stops growing. Tennessee opened the venue in 1921 as Shields-Watkins Field with room for only a few thousand fans. Over the decades, the school expanded it again and again until it became one of the largest stadiums in the world.

What is remarkable about Neyland is not just its scale, but the fact that so much of that scale came through incremental growth rather than wholesale replacement. The venue has undergone 16 expansion projects over the course of its life. Current capacity stands at 101,915 — one of the very few century-old venues that also operate on a true mega-stadium scale.

Rose Bowl Stadium — UCLA (1922)

The Rose Bowl is the outlier on this list, but it belongs here. Opened in 1922 in Pasadena, the stadium was originally built for the Tournament of Roses and quickly became one of the most important venues in American sports. UCLA did not move in as a full-time tenant until 1982, yet the stadium's place in college football history was already secure long before that.

The Rose Bowl's official capacity is commonly cited at 92,542 for major events. It is also one of the most decorated multi-use venues in American sports history, having hosted Super Bowls, world-class soccer matches, concerts, and Olympic events. The Rose Bowl is not just one of the oldest active stadiums in the FBS orbit. It is one of the most famous places the sport has ever had.

Why These Stadiums Still Matter

What keeps these venues relevant is not simply that they opened a long time ago. It is that they still host meaningful football in the present. They have not been frozen in amber. They have survived because schools kept investing in them, reshaping them, and reintroducing them to new generations of fans.

Some, like Kansas Memorial Stadium, are in the middle of that process right now. Others, like Bobby Dodd, Camp Randall, and Neyland, show what happens when a stadium's identity proves durable enough to outlast wave after wave of modernization.

Planning a trip to one of these stadiums?

The best game-day trips usually start before kickoff. Staying close to the stadium, campus, and surrounding game-day scene can make the entire weekend easier. Search for hotels near any stadium to find the right fit, or read our guide on choosing the best hotel for pro and college game days.