You wont find many more imposing venues in the country than the home of the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee. Neyland Stadium seats over 102,000 orange-clad fans in an enclosed bowl, making it as loud as it is large. Opened in 1921 as Shield-Watkins Field, this college football mecca originally seated just 3,200. It has grown by almost 100,000 in just under 100 years of Volunteer football. In 1962, it was renamed Neyland Stadium for recently deceased Athletic Director and Coach General Robert Neyland.
The Sporting News ranked Neyland Stadium as the #1 stadium in college football in 2001 and Sports Illustrated ranked a weekend in Knoxville as the best college football weekend experience in 2004. Tailgating on the Tennessee River is an event unto itself. While college football fans will always debate the best gameday experience, few would argue with you about ranking a game at Neyland as an essential on the college football bucket list