Ranking Jack Trice and Every Football Stadium in the Big 12

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Construction along the north side of Jack Trice stadium nears completion on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021 in Ames, IA.
20210825 002 Trice Bp Jpg | Kelsey Kremer via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Big 12 Conference is full of great programs, cultures, and everything in between.

They dominate the Midwest, but also have teams as south as Florida, as east as West Virginia, and as west as Arizona. Overall, it's a great, complete conference.

As a power conference, there are tons of stadiums that are some of the best in the nation. So let's rank every single one from 16 to 1.

16. Cincinnati Bearcats – Nippert Stadium

Fans sit on the walls surrounding the field during the game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Cincinnati Bearcats. — Oct 4, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Fans sit on the walls surrounding the field during the game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Nippert Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nippert Stadium isn't a bad place to watch a game, but being in the middle of a city takes away from it to an extent. Regardless, it's a cool spot, just more of a glorified group of five stadium.

15. Arizona Wildcats – Casino Del Sol Stadium

Casino Del Sol Stadium is solid, and the background of cacti and desert is a pretty cool touch. However, the stadium is pretty bland, and it's not that tough a place to play.

14. Houston Cougars – TDECU Stadium

Points get taken away from Houston due to it also being in a city, which takes away from the college aesthetic. Regardless, though, the Cougars have an underrated stadium. It would get a lot better if the fans were more passionate and the stadium were symmetrical.

13. Kansas State Wildcats – Bill Snyder Family Stadium

13th place might feel low for Bill Snyder Family Stadium, but it's not a bad place at all. The fans are solid; just the symmetry makes it a bit awkward. Solid place to watch a game overall.

12. UCF Knights – Acrisure Bounce House

Fans fly the UCF flag before the game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. — Aug 28, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Fans fly the UCF flag before the game against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Acrisure Bounce House. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This was an elite Group of Five place to watch a game, but compared to some of the big dogs, it might have to take a bit of a step back. It's a great environment, always fills up, and is super loud, but it's just a soulless bowl without much to offer outside of fans.

11. West Virginia Mountaineers – Milan Puskar Stadium

When it comes to passion and selling out games, West Virginia does things great. But as a stadium overall, it's just an average place. If tailgating counted towards this ranking, the Mountaineers would shoot up.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders – Jones AT&T Stadium

Jones AT&T Stadium is a good spot with a cool look from the outside. The iconic big Texas Tech logo adds some character, but it does just feel like a slightly worse version of Boone Pickens Stadium.

9. Oklahoma State Cowboys – Boone Pickens Stadium

The 3/4 bowl is a pretty cool stadium, and the passionate fans help things out a bit. But without a massive capacity and nothing super special, it's hard to put it too high.

8. Iowa State Cyclones – Jack Trice Stadium

Iowa State fans bundled up for Saturday's game against Baylor at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. The temps during the game hovered around the low 30s. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Jack Trice is a great place to watch a game. It's a massive stadium in a proper college town, and it always has great fans and sells out the place. However, the infrastructure feels pretty average. As mentioned with West Virginia, tailgating would severely improve this ranking if it were counted.

7. TCU Horned Frogs – Amon G. Carter Stadium

TCU's stadium is a great one, has a unique look, and feels much bigger than it actually is. It's similar to Oklahoma State, but has a few extra intangibles that bring it a bit higher than Boone Pickens.

6. Kansas Jayhawks – David Booth Family Stadium

This is a completely new stadium, and I'm judging it based on being completely done, not halfway renovated. It's a beautiful stadium, new, and has a great atmosphere. It's just unfortunate that it isn't super big in terms of capacity.

5. Baylor Bears – McLane Stadium

McLand Stadium is an unbelievable spot. Waco is a good college town, and the stadium sits right on the water, which allows for some fun experiences. It's also one of the newest stadiums in the conference, which gives it an edge as well.

4. Utah Utes – Rice Eccles Stadium

A reflection of the North end zone in the window of the press box as fans file in for their game. — Sep 3, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; A reflection of the North end zone in the window of the press box as fans file in for their game against the Michigan Wolverines at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rice Eccles is an iconic stadium in the grand scheme of college football, and the Utah aesthetic is phenomenal. It's a pretty big stadium as well and has some of the best fans in the country.

3. Colorado Buffaloes – Folsom Field

Folsom Field isn't that big and doesn't feel that iconic, but its integration into a beautiful campus is what makes it legendary. It fits the campus aesthetic perfectly and is overall a great place to watch a football game. They have solid fans and passion as well, especially in recent years.

2. Arizona State Sun Devils – Mountain America Stadium

Mountain America Stadium is great due to its uniqueness. It's not that big of a stadium, but the mountain that's almost ingrained into the stadium makes it a lot better. Pair that with passionate fans, and you get the desert, cactus feel of Arizona, but a stadium and fanbase that is phenomenal.

1. BYU Cougars – Lavell Edwards Stadium

Lavell Edwards Stadium is unbelievable. It's in a great college town, has the mountains in the back to complete everything, and has one of the best and loudest fan bases in the entire country. If the stands on each end weren't on their own, this would probably be one of the top stadiums in America.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa-state as Ranking Jack Trice and Every Football Stadium in the Big 12.

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