The Southeastern Conference is officially expanding its football ranks this season with the addition of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Not only is the league adding a pair of historic programs to its roster but also some of the top venues in the country.
CBS Sports writer David Cobb took a look at the now-16-team conference and ranked each respective school’s home stadium. In it, the Florida Gators’ home field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, affectionately known as the “Swamp”, came in third overall.
“The Gators have dropped two home games in each of the past two seasons while searching for their footing under coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag],” Cobb begins.
“However, it will take more than a couple of years to change Ben Hill Griffin Stadium’s reputation as a nightmare venue for opponents. The Gators went 32-2 inside ‘The Swamp’ from 2005-09 during [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag]’s heyday as coach.”
Capacity-wise, the Swamp is the seventh-biggest stadium now with an official capacity of 88,548 — good for 11th in the country as well.
Other top SEC schools in the rankings
The LSU Tigers and Tiger Stadium earned the top spot in the rankings, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide and Bryant–Denny Stadium. Then following the Orange and Blue are the Tennessee Volunteers (Neyland Stadium) and Auburn Tigers (Jordan-Hare Stadium) to round out the top five.
The Georgia Bulldogs (Sanford Stadium) came in at No. 6, followed by the South Carolina Gamecocks (Williams-Brice Stadium), Texas A&M Aggies (Kyle Field), Oklahoma (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium) and Texas (Texas Memorial Stadium), respectively.
Florida’s 2024 season opener
The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.
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