Anyone who has been to Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon knows that this venue is something special. Although it is not very large – with a capacity for just 54,000 fans – it is considered one of the noisiest and most hostile environments in the country.
As we approach the start of the 2024 college football season, ESPN has released a ranking of the best venues in the country, ranking the home of the Oregon Ducks among the top locations.
The Autzen Stadium ranked 14th on the list. Here’s what ESPN had this to say about this:
Despite its modest 54,000-seat capacity, Autzen Stadium has long been considered one of the loudest stadiums in college football. There’s something about the combination of the stadium’s generic potato chip-shaped design and passionate fan base that seemingly defies logic. Watching a game at Autzen feels more like a place with twice the crowd size than other similarly sized stadiums.
The proof is in the results: Over the past 10 years, the Ducks are tied for the 10th-best record in college football (90-38), but rank 6th when they play at home versus 15th when they’re on the road. Plus, there’s a duck that rides a motorcycle to kick things off.
While some Oregon fans may think Autzen should be higher on the list because of the game atmosphere he provides, it’s hard to argue with some of the venues ranked above him, like The Big House, Beaver Stadium, Ohio State and the Pink Bowl.
With the Ducks’ move to the Big Ten, there’s a good chance more eyes will turn to Eugene, so Autzen could get more of the credit he deserves going forward.
