College Towns

[ELA]

I think of the term "college town" as meaning a town small enough that the university is THE thing in the town.  You can't drive around very far without running into a college something.  Atlanta et al. would not qualify (even if somehow one liked the city).  Chapel Hill is almost too small to qualify IMHO.  There isn't much to it aside from the U.  Charlottesville is probably near an ideal ratio between U size and town size.

That's why Madison and Ann Arbor top my list.  I think the *town* of Ann Arbor is slightly better, but not enough to overcome having a lake.

[FearlessF]

Waco is a dump.  Torchy's makes some tasty gringo tacos.

agreed

[FearlessF]

I've not been around College Station much besides the bar area and to and from the stadium

but, since it's affectionately known as Collie Station, might not make the list

[Entropy]

I think it depends upon what you want to do...  going with a group of guys to hang out and enjoy the game, I'd say the following about places I've been:

1)  KSU - Aggieville is one of the best spots I've been.  Great bar scene and lots of fun.  Town is small, easy to get around and people are great
2) PSU - great tailgating.  Stadium and happy valley are separated so doing both is a hike.  Wearing Nebraska gear I was treated to items thrown at me, repeated fight challenges as we walked around and plenty of number one salutes.  If we did not attend the game with a few PSU fans I would not have stuck around.  Won't ever attend again
3)  KU - good small town for games.  Nice bars, people want to have a good time... easy to get tickets
4)  Univ of Ill - similar to KU but more spread out.  I had a good time there.  Liked their stadium as well.  Easy to get in an out of, bathrooms lines were small and we were welcomed most places we went.
5)  Univ of Missouri - meh is my first reaction.  tailgating is fun but the place turns into a waste dump.  You literally are driving through trash and sometimes pushing trash to get out.  garbage cans/bags are not used.  fan base is mixed bag and the town itself is just ok.  I've never got that college town feel, but we mostly tailgated when going to columbia
6)  Michigan - AA is a great college town.  Between the golf course, bars and great places to eat it is one of my favorite places to visit
7)  MSU felt like Univ of Ill to me, but I liked their stadium less.  I'd probably put East Lansing behind Lawrence and Champaign but it's close.  We enjoyed the bars and people were very interactive (in a good way).  Most people I know have EL rated higher than I have so I probably missed parts of the charm.
8)  Washington - Seattle is a nice city to visit.  I always have difficulty with colleges in big cities because they don't feel like college towns.  You basically experience Seattle and then add a game on a campus to the event.  I do like Washington's stadium and the views are terrific.  But it's not a college town feel
9)  Northwestern has the same issue.  In fact, outside of the visiting Chicago and access to cheap game tickets, I'm not a fan.  Their stadium is probably the least desirable of the stadiums I've visited, the campus is just ok on game day.    You basically visit chicago and then travel a long ways to attend a game.
10)  Univ of Nebraska - campus is located downtown so their is a great bar hopping scene.  Plenty to do, but tailgating is limited compared to other locations.  People are overly friendly and buy visitors drinks.  Stadium is ok.  If you sit in the more exclusive seats, you have a lot of amenities.  If you sit in the cheap seats in the end zones, you have a walk for everything.. including bathrooms.  The stadium is not laid out very well... if I'm honest.
11) Pitt - another experience like NW and Washington.  Tough to judge.  Since the game was at the steelers stadium I never set foot on the campus.  That game did not feel like a college game at all.. more of a pro game day experience.  But tickets were dirt cheap. 
12) USC - Stadium is close to NW as the worst.  LA is spread out and there really isn't a location fans all gather to interact.  It's back to the city vs college campus feel.  We did have our beer stolen during the game.. actually, they poured out the beer and took the cans.  You have a lot of solicitors selling watches, tshirts, etc as you tailgate as well.  USC is historic but not sure I'd do it again.


that's my brain dump.. as I listen to this conference call.. lol

[Entropy]

Never been to waco for a game... just through it.  It seemed like dump.

I've been to Austin a few times but never for a game.   I'd bet Austin would be a good experience for visiting fans. 

[FearlessF]

was in Waco when the Husker game was delayed for lightning - 4 huskers over 100 yards rushing - was a good time

been to Many Husker games in Austin - Utee throws a helluva tailgate - good times

[Cincydawg]

Somebody told me the Ohio State alumni club in ATL is second largest in the country.  I know there are 2-3 sports bars that cater to OSU fans, and more cater to Michigan, etc.  When Georgia Tech was a consistent football power (think 1950s) I think there were more fans, and the city was of course much smaller.

It is very common when we're out walking to overhear someone on the phone speaking a foreign language, and often not Spanish.  I do see quite a bit of Bama gear around, probably a clear #2.

Auburn, Clemson, Tennessee, Florida, quite a bit of Michigan attire, more than OSU, around these parts.  Georgia Tech of course is a smaller school so they don't have that many alumni comparatively.  And a lot of the students are Asians who would be less likely to care about CFB.

It's tough to be a Tech fan these days, with Paul Johnson you at least had a shot at beating UGA on occasion.

[OrangeAfroMan]

Gainesville is nice, but I don't know how special it is.  There's plenty of tailgating and such, great stadium atmosphere, etc.  I doubt many visiting fans enjoy the weather in Aug/Sept (90+ degrees, 95% humidity with no breeze).

[OrangeAfroMan]

It's tough to be a Tech fan these days, with Paul Johnson you at least had a shot at beating UGA on occasion.

I was genuinely surprised they got rid of him.  Where do they think their ceiling really is??  10-3 every few years is about it, and he provided that.

[OrangeAfroMan]

It would be fun to try to locate a bar for each major college program here in Phoenix, but without doing any online research.  
I've found Florida, Nebraska, and Oregon bars.  If those 3 have one, all the other helmets must.

[Cincydawg]

I was genuinely surprised they got rid of him.  Where do they think their ceiling really is??  10-3 every few years is about it, and he provided that.

He retired.  They did not get rid of him.

[Cincydawg]

I wonder if Palo Alto might be considered in this group.

Blacksburg is kind of scenic, I don't know about the Game Day scene if that is a factor.  Boise, Idaho?  

Honolulu is too large I think.

[CWSooner]

Morgantown?  South Bend?

Saw Army play UNC in Chapel Hill back in 1982.  I don't remember one thing about the "college town" atmosphere.  I think we had to head back to Fort Rucker right after the game.

Game Day experience at West Point is nice.  If you ever get a chance to go there for a game, do it.

The Little Apple and College Station are nice.  Friendly Aggies in CS bought us a bunch of beers.

I haven't been to a game there, but I concur with the negative comments about Waco.

I was in Auburn, AL, in the summer of 1979 with a fellow Fort Benning GI looking to pick up girls.  We found the streets rolled up.

I've been to Austin a few times--through it more often than stopping there.  It's a big city, and we didn't have time to stop and enjoy 6th Street, etc.  At UT itself, the part around the stadium strikes me as more as a high-tech research complex than as a college campus.  I have no idea what game-day is like.

The University of Arizona has a lovely campus, but I don't know how college-towny Tucson is.

USC is a big historic stadium located in a rather dumpy part of L.A.

U-Dub is a college campus in a big city.  A big city with two big-league pro teams.

Fayetteville (AR) is very pretty and has a great college feel to it.

I like Norman, but I'm a homer.

[Cincydawg]

Chapel Hill IMHO is just too small to have much Game Day atmosphere coupled with the fact the students are far far far from football fans.  I think a good college town needs medium size to be a good one, at minimum, and CH is under that.

When I was there, there were only three bars in the whole place aside from some dumps that locals went to.  And they couldn't serve mixed drinks.  I recall one nightclub that was not bad, mostly a music place more than nightclub.  I know now it has grown into Durham in effect, so perhaps the two towns together have some size, but you wouldn't walk to Durham at all, the highway is messy.

I guess it was a good thing for me personally that it didn't have more night life ....