The Big Sky Conference covers some of America’s most beautiful areas. The football stadiums, well, they are not nearly as nice. Sure, there are a few good venues, but they co-mingle with some absolute duds. It is representative of the entire conference as a whole.
You have land grant universities, state colleges and commuter schools mixed up in one pool. The results are all over the map. Ranking Big Sky football stadiums required us to sort through this odd collection which was an experience to say the least.
Also Interesting: Is this the (cheapest) best seat in college football?
Ranking Big Sky Conference football stadiums
Kibbie Dome / Idaho Vandals – NR
There is no way for me to accurately place the Kibbie Dome in a ranking of Big Sky stadiums. As an Idaho Vandal, it’s hard for me to offer an objective perspective. If I place it first, some will complain of bias. If I slide it down the rankings, I feel as if I’m only doing it because of the optics. This is a no-win situation.
More importantly, my personal experiences are going to influence my feelings about the Kibbie Dome. I got to play intramural soccer on the field, was on the sideline for our incredible homecoming win against Louisiana Tech in 2009 and walked past the damn thing an endless number of times over the years.
The Kibbie Dome is awesome. But I’m also emotionally invested in it. Placing it in these rankings would be unfair. With that in mind, this gem will not be included in the list.
11) Hillsboro Stadium / Portland State University
Spare a thought for the poor Portland State University Vikings who were booted from Providence Park and now play in Hillsboro Stadium, a glorified community park. You have one stand and some end-zone seats. There was no videoboard the last time I was there, and this still appears to be the case today.
Hell, Portland State can’t even put logos in the end zone. However, the worst aspect is the location of Hillsboro Stadium which is nearly 15 miles from campus. The Vikings might as well play in The Dalles because it seems that far away. Hillsboro Stadium is a place not suitable for FCS college football.
10) Nottingham Field / Northern Colorado
During my travels in college, I met quite a few Northern Colorado students. That was surprising because it isn’t a school most people think about…ever. They were all really cool, though. Very smart, well-grounded and not particularly fond of Greeley or their athletic programs. School pride was nonexistent.
That probably has something to do with their athletic facilities, including Nottingham Field, being a total disaster. It is such a sad place to watch a football game. There is truly nothing redeeming about it. You are too far away from the action, sitting on bleachers and probably wishing you had just kept driving to Fort Collins.
As for Greeley, well, I cannot stress enough just how true this is.
9) Hornet Stadium / Sacramento State
If you have watched my video on why Sac State should move to Sacramento’s proposed MLS stadium, you already know what makes Hornet Stadium bad. If you didn’t, here’s an abbreviated version. The stadium was awful when I was a kid 30 years ago, only minimal improvements have been made and the experience is awful. Seriously, just look at it. Unless you have a fetish for metal bleachers or being super far away from the action, the home of the Hornets is sad.
8) Roos Field / Eastern Washington
The red turf does not make for a good viewing experience in person or on television. Roos Field is rickety and seems like it will blow away on any given windy Palouse day. For those who have never been, that’s like every day. Most importantly, Cheney is just a depressing place. I don’t have any issues with EWU fans, but I’ll die on any of those hills.
What sucks for Eastern Washington is that they have made efforts to improve Roos Field. Ambitious renovation plans in 2012 didn’t go anywhere. Another attempt was put forth in 2019 but little progress was made. The school’s seemingly chronic budget issues have meant keeping the lights on has taken priority over a renovated stadium. Even if Roos Field were redone, the ugly red turf would still prevent it from moving up the ranking. It looks bad.
7) Holt Arena / Idaho State
Fun fact: Holt Arena is the oldest dome stadium in America. Another fun fact: the stadium wasn’t earthquake-proof until recent renovations. Yikes. Speaking of those renovations, they have certainly helped make things look a little better. A few years ago, things were pretty bad in Pocatello.
The roof was leaking constantly, meaning basketball games had to be delayed. There was also no natural light causing spectators to have no sense of time when inside. Translucent panels have changed that. Look, Holt Arena is still old and dated but it is also unique. That is something.
6) Stewart Stadium / Weber Stadium
Everyone tends to look at the Wasatch Range behind Stewart Stadium and think the backdrop makes this venue impressive. In reality, all the mountains do is take your attention away from a pretty lousy place to watch a college football game.
Now, it’s effective to a certain extent. Hornet Stadium placed ninth while Stewart Stadium finished sixth with the only real difference between the two being a scenic view. That being said, the home of Weber Stadium is not very good apart from this and in no way deserves to be ahead of any of the following Big Sky venues.
5) UC Davis Health Stadium / UC Davis
I remember seeing a UC Davis football game at Toomey Field back in the day. It was the pits. UC Davis Health Stadium is undoubtedly an improvement. Yet something about it just feels soulless. I can’t put my finger on it. But the feeling will hit you almost immediately if you watch the Aggies play at home. This is not a bad place to catch a game from, but I could also never visit UC Davis Health Stadium again in my life and be content.
4) Walkup Skydome / Northern Arizona
The Walkup Skydome is endlessly fascinating. The size and the shape of it are quite different. As for the gameday experience, it is fun when the Lumberjacks are good. It must be said that various renovations over the past decade or so have really helped. The dome was not nearly as impressive in the 2000s.
As good as the Walkup Skydome is for football, it is equally bad for basketball. They still haven’t figured out a suitable setup for that. Finally, Flagstaff is kind of a cool place and I’m not a big Arizona guy.
3) Alex G. Spanos Stadium / Cal Poly
We’ve already covered the gameday experience at Mustang Memorial Field for a Cal Poly game, so you can check that out for more details. In all honestly, I didn’t expect the stadium to place this highly, but the Big Sky doesn’t have a lot of amazing venues.
2) Washington–Grizzly Stadium / Montana
There is no debate over the two best non-Kibbie Dome venues when ranking Big Sky Conference football stadiums. How you rank them is a matter of preference. I have Washington–Grizzly Stadium as second best. Sure, the backdrop is nice. And I will give it up to the Grizzlies for having free parking. I do love me some complimentary sporting event parking.
The issue I have with Washington–Grizzly Stadium is that it looks off. All of the disjointed expansions have created this odd Franken-stadium that doesn’t fit right. Also, Montana people talk non-stop about how great of a fanbase they are. That’s not true. At best, they’re tolerable.
1) Bobcat Stadium / Montana State
Bobcat Stadium is the best stadium in not only the state of Montana but also the Big Sky. The layout of the press box and luxury boxes is outstanding. The gameday atmosphere is superb. And the scenery is just as good as Washington–Grizzly Stadium. Notably, the design is cleaner.
Overall, the entire package of Bobcat Stadium is fractionally better when compared to its in-state rival. Also, Montana State fans are less annoying than their Griz counterparts. That makes a difference.
Keep Reading: The 11 worst college football teams since 2010
