Big 12 Game Day Experiences: Kansas State Ranks the Best

Which school has the best game day experience from pre-game to the end of the game? Two road warriors use their experience to rank the Big 12.

Nov 11, 2023; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; The Kansas State Wildcats Pride of Wildcat Land Matching Band spells out K-State before the start of a game against the Baylor Bears at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports / Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

College Football is back! And for the second year in a row, the Big 12 looks different than in years past.

Texas and Oklahoma have left for the SEC. The league now has 16 members after adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah over the summer. Are you trying to decide which new destinations might provide the best game day experience? Let us help.

Two members of our team here at TCU Horned Frogs On SI (aka KillerFrogs.com) are on a quest to experience game day at all 134 FB stadiums. When they travel to a new stadium, they arrive early and stay past the end of the game. They become immersed in the traditions, the tailgates, and the overall atmosphere inside the stadium. To say they know their stuff is an understatement. They are on the road most weekends each fall, absorbing new college towns or revisiting others.

Andrew Bauhs of College Football Tour has experienced 109 game days, including many of the Big 12 schools. His quest began 20 years ago. This season, he will add eight new stadiums to his list.

Brett Gibbons of the Road to CFB has also been to 109 stadiums and experienced game days at 46 of them. He also plans to add eight new game days to his list this season.

Both Andrew and Brett will share their travel experiences throughout their season. Read more about their tours here:

• Andrew’s College Football Tour
• Brett’s Road to CFB

We asked Andrew and Brett to rank the 16 schools in the Big 12 and determine which one has the best game day experience. To get to this ranking, they considered these six categories:

• Stadium – Overall stadium structure, architectural features, and how the stadium contributes to the experience.
• Traditions – The unique traditions before, during, and after the game that you do not see at other schools.
• Atmosphere – What is it like inside the stadium from the opening kickoff until the clock ticks 0:00.
• Tailgating – How is the pre-game tailgating experience, and how does it compare to others around the nation?
• Fans – How are the fans before the game, and do they remain in the stands throughout the game?
• Town – How does the town compare to other college towns? A large city may be a great city, but how is it as a college town?

Each category had a maximum of 10 points. Only two schools scored a perfect 10 in any category – both Colorado and Kansas State scored a 10 in the “Towns” category. In the event of a tie, Andrew and Brett then discussed the tied teams to determine the order.

Neither College Football Tour nor Road to CFB have visited Provo for a BYU game day experience, so the Cougars are not included in this list.

Big 12 Game Day Experiences Rankings

1. Kansas State
2. Cincinnati
3. Texas Tech
4. Oklahoma State
5. Colorado
6. Kansas
7. West Virginia
8. Iowa State
9. Utah
10. Arizona
11. TCU
12. Arizona State
13. UCF
14. Baylor
15. Houston

Not Ranked - BYU

School	Stadium	Tradition	Atmosphere	Tailgating	Fans	Town	Total Score
Kansas State	8	7	8	6	8	10	47
Cincinnati	9	7	9	6	9	5	45
Texas Tech	7	9	9	7	7	6	45
Oklahoma State	9	7	8	7	6	8	45
Colorado	8	7	7	6	6	10	44
Kansas	6	8	7	5	8	9	44
West Virginia	6	9	8	7	8	5	43
Iowa State	8	5	8	7	8	7	43
Utah	8	7	8	6	8	6	43
Arizona	6	5	6	8	8	9	42
TCU	8	7	6	5	8	7	41
Arizona State	7	6	6	5	6	9	39
UCF	4	7	9	6	8	4	38
Baylor	7	7	6	5	6	6	37
Houston	6	6	6	4	5	4	31
BYU	-	-	-	-	-	-	NR

How did they do? Do you agree with their assessment? Let us know what you would change!

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