Great College Soccer Atmospheres

Discussion in 'College & Amateur Soccer' started by nrmnby, Feb 8, 2017.

  1. nrmnby

    nrmnby New Member

    Jul 12, 2005
    #1 nrmnby, Feb 8, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2017
    I wonder what college soccer programs provide the best atmosphere for watching a game? I'm not talking about the quality of the game on the field (though that doesn't hurt), but the stadium, and entire experience surrounding the game.

    Yearsssssssss ago, I remember enjoying a similar thread, focusing mostly on the experience Creighton provided that few other schools could match. (yes, THAT long ago!) I was curious how much the culture has grown, and found an article from 2012 that notes that twenty-six D1 programs average over 1000 fans. Obviously, things have grown since then, and I found that recently UCSB hosted Cal Poly in front of nearly 15,000 fans.

    But attendance isn't the only ingredient for a great atmosphere, and a great atmosphere isn't limited to D1. I remember being treated to a game at little D3 Wheaton in Naperville, IL, and loving what I saw. The fans filled the small stadium, and didn't sit down until the ref blew for half time. There were families picnicking around the field, and a great buzz. I especially liked that the fans seemed to truly understand the game, and you could hear the crowd get excited by a clever penetrating pass, while ignoring the long clearance.

    So, what programs provide a great atmosphere? Describe the ones I should know, and uncover the hidden gems!
     
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  2. xpowerout

    xpowerout Member

    Nov 17, 2010
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Been a little while since I've been there, sadly, but I will always recommend Maryland's Ludwig Field. Crowd sizes can fluctuate based on day of the week or opponent, but when it's a big game, you know for sure - in September 2013, for example, Maryland played its final ACC regular season game against Duke. Ludwig Field has a listed capacity of 7000, but the announced attendance was 8397, and that's not including people who jumped nearby fences to be inside the ground after the gates were closed. The Crew is one of, if not the, most fervent fanbases in college soccer, and being a part of The Crew for four years nurtured my love of the game.

    So yeah. Maryland.
     
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  3. WolverineFutbol

    Aug 1, 2012
    Here are some really good/great venues with some notes:

    Michigan Soccer Stadium (excellent atmosphere with crowd right over/on the pitch, Ultra student section can get loud, great scoreboard, intimate setting in a great college town, good for both families and students)

    Maryland Ludwig Field (great venue with soccer knowledgeable crowd, good hot dogs, fun atmosphere, tough but fun place for the visitors)

    Indiana Armstrong Stadium/Yeagley Field (nice stadium close to the football and basketball venues. good college town, excellent pitch despite the brown grass in late Fall, reasonable concession prices, overall good atmosphere)

    Creighton Morrison Stadium (very nice stadium and large crowds, excellent pitch, more family oriented but the students can get rowdy, good cheeseburgers)

    Notre Dame Alumni Stadium (very nice stadium right on campus next to football practice fields. mix of knowledgable fans and local families, very comfortable atmosphere for visitors, good but slightly pricy concessions)

    Akron First Energy Stadium (great atmosphere with rowdy student section, very tough place to play for many reasons, concessions are solid)
     
  4. fknbuflobo

    fknbuflobo Member+

    Arsenal FC
    United States
    Nov 16, 2011
    Akron, Ohio
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agree with all that. I have been to each of those stadiums, some more than once ! All except Morrison Stadium. I have seen Zips play there on TV, but never in person. I hope to make it to Omaha sometime; check it out.
     
  5. CreightonMCFCjoey

    Jan 30, 2007
    Omaha, NE
    Club:
    Manchester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Creighton has a 'refreshment' tent with a beer gong that gets rung when the Jays score. For 3 minutes after a goal 'refreshments' are only $2
     
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  6. Libric

    Libric Member

    Oct 14, 2011
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Interesting that after 5 posts, UConn and the Goal Patrol haven't been mentioned. Especially since (and somebody correct me if I'm wrong), they were the original student supporters group.
     
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  7. fknbuflobo

    fknbuflobo Member+

    Arsenal FC
    United States
    Nov 16, 2011
    Akron, Ohio
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    AK Rowdies! If you don't know, you better AKs somebody!
     
  8. Libric

    Libric Member

    Oct 14, 2011
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Looks like they both started in 2005.
     
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  9. nrmnby

    nrmnby New Member

    Jul 12, 2005
    Not that we're ranking, but this puts Creighton in the lead. :D

    This thread idea just popped in my head, but your descriptions have me wanting to put together a road trip, or at least form a bucket list. Thanks all, especially WolverineFutbol. I wish I'd thought of this in the fall, when this board was probably more active, but I'm still looking forward to hearing about more programs.
     
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  10. xpowerout

    xpowerout Member

    Nov 17, 2010
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Poking my head back in to settle the debate of Goal Patrol vs. AK Rowdies and who came first - The Crew started in 2003 ;)
     
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  11. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    i think da superfans were in bloomington before '03. i actually just got rid of my tshirt from my freshman year in the fall of '04. i don't remember when they were made official and the name changed to the Hoosier Army. it had to have been after my senior year in 2007.

    armstrong was better before the students and band got moved to the north side of the field. believe that was all done as part of the hoosier army rebranding. the place used to get as intense as anywhere in the country when a big match was played at night. not so much anymore.
     
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  12. collegesoccer

    collegesoccer Member+

    Apr 11, 2005
    That was done so tv would face the crowd rather than an empty area across the way once all the games were on BTN or streamed...
     
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  13. kinznk

    kinznk Member

    Feb 11, 2007
    I live in the Northwest and occasionally on the Portland centric sports channel there is an occasional Portland Pilot game. On tv it looks like there is a pretty good atmosphere.
     
  14. big spaniel

    big spaniel Member

    Nov 18, 1999
    Arlington, Virginia
    I went to grad school at UCONN over thirty years ago, and soccer was bigger that football. This was a few years after they won a National Championship, and they were still avery strong team They passed out buttons saying "SUNDAY IS UCONN SOCCER DAY." Since almost everybody on campus was in-state from Connecticut, it would clear out Friday afternoons -- a lot of people would go home on the weekends, but many would come back for soccer on Sunday afternoon. For the era they had huge crowds, 9, -10,000 people packed into a bunch of bleachers. The would outdraw football (still Div. I-AA and playing on campus). Very spirited and knowledgable crowd. There were some banners, but there was no organized fan response.
     
  15. Libric

    Libric Member

    Oct 14, 2011
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    I am aware of the huge crowds UConn drew in the 70's and early 80's, was just referencing the actual organized fan group. Great times from what I've heard, kegs in the lawn, ,people as far as you can see. The players loved it, heard so many great stories from the players of those eras.
     
  16. Martininho

    Martininho Member+

    Feb 13, 2007
    Chicago
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, if you REALLY want to go back, Quincy College (and their high schools) had a small venue with loud, hostile, and knowledgeable fans...this was back in the day when they were racking up NAIA championships like clockwork, and to the melodious sound of many cowbells at home matches.

    I also played against Creighton...at Rosenblatt. Can't remember at the moment if the tougher chore was navigating the infield, or avoiding the occasional mastodon pitch invasion. ;)
     
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  17. Jazzy Altidore

    Jazzy Altidore BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Sep 2, 2009
    San Francisco
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    UCSB has been solid at least since the first time the team appeared at the College Cup Final. This really caused a surge in popularity. And then you have the goal-posts thrown into the ocean.



     
  18. Martininho

    Martininho Member+

    Feb 13, 2007
    Chicago
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They are also the tortilla tossers...er, throwers, ;) yes?
     
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  19. Jazzy Altidore

    Jazzy Altidore BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Sep 2, 2009
    San Francisco
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States


    Gauchos baby
     
  20. ThePonchat

    ThePonchat Member+

    #ProRelForUSA
    United States
    Jan 10, 2013
    I've Been Everywhere Man
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wake Forest does a nice job too.
     
  21. OverseasView

    OverseasView Member+

    Olympique Lyonnais
    France
    Feb 3, 2013
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    From my overseas's view, watching my son's games deep in the night on video streams, we were impressed by the organization of the Utah Valley fans.
    A solid pack of fans, organized like a Roman cohort, standing in front of the bleachers at mid-field level the closest possible to the pitch, plus the hard fans behind the goals with drums and all articles needed to show due allegiance to their team.
    It looked lively and surely helping their team to maintain its good home stats.

    And I remember the first AAC away game that Romeo played and thus the first competitive game I watched (nostalgy and emotions): the NC State fans were numerous, noisy and pretty efficient. Some had studied the CV of Pitt players: and thus were making very informed and detailed jokes to Romeo about his Swiss origins (humorous and not that bad: just fair banter): this is the immediate thing he told me when we discussed about his first impressions. He liked it and was impressed by their "professionalism":laugh:. (By the way, it was the first loss (in OT) of a long long serie...:cry:).
     
  22. scoachd1

    scoachd1 Member+

    Jun 2, 2004
    Southern California
    1) UCSB vs Cal Poly - most of the top 20 all time attendance games are from one of these games. UCSB crowds are inconsistent, but they many of their other games have good crowds and atmosphere.
    2) UConn - game in and game out they consistently seem to fill most of their 5K capacity even when they aren't national contenders- can't speak to the environment since I can't recall being able to see them.
    3) Maryland has slowly but surely built their following every year to the point where the majority of their crowds are 4-7K of pretty rowdy fans.
    4) Clemson vs South Carolina - This game seems always good for about 6K - both Clemson and South Carolina are among the top 10-15 in attendance overall
    5) Wake, Indiana, Creighton have strong consistent soccer culture. Louisville has a great new facility and big crowds, Akron is still pretty good but has dropped a bit from the Porter days. UNC and Virginia are good draws. I think Portland is starting to progress back to their glory years while the administrators at schools like Utah Valley and Grand Canyon seem to be trying to make soccer the tent pole fall sport.
     
  23. JoeSoccerFan

    JoeSoccerFan Member+

    Aug 11, 2000
    pretty good list. let me add the following:
    • New Mexico had some good lively crowds (it's been a few years)
    • South Florida - nice too
    • WV - a step down from the list below, but looks to be growing
     
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  24. scoachd1

    scoachd1 Member+

    Jun 2, 2004
    Southern California
    Agree New Mexico clearly should be on any list - I guess I was overly swayed by the fact that attendance seems to have waned with the change of conference but they've had some ebb and flow over the years and when things are flowing they have had some great flows.
    A few years ago I thought S. Florida might be one of the smaller schools where the administration was trying to build soccer into a meaningful part of the schools atmosphere when they were averaging about 1500 a game about 5 years ago but that waned and more recently they rarely seem to get 1000 a game. WV never seemed at all special to me and have only been in the top 50 one time in the past four years.

    Some others that I overlooked: St Johns - down a bit from there hey day but still managed to get a consistently good crowd for a small school. Notre Dame is also not a huge school but gets solid crowds. Washington - in the top group as far back as they've been keeping records.

    St Louis - They are nothing like days when they had the best attendance in the country but even at there most recent worst average over 1000 a game. Another once good atmosphere was Duke which averaged over 1500 per game at the end of the John Rennie era but rarely gets 1000 in a game in the Kerr era. Dartmouth and Brown were also very good but have seemed to have dropped a bit since Cook and Noonen left. Fresno State has among the very best until felled by Title IX.

    UCLA actually has a lot of pretty good crowds, but Drake is an atmosphere sucking huge shallow bowl with track between so fans that aren't have to sit in the small portable bleacher section on the track feel like they are watching the game from the next field over.
     
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  25. nrmnby

    nrmnby New Member

    Jul 12, 2005
    I hope nobody minds if I bump this since we're now in season. Sounds like there are a lot of great places to experience a game!
     
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