2024 Stadium Tour

I am not saying the 2023 the tour was bad, but based on my year end summary, it didn’t always showcase the best talent of the FBS. How else can you describe a season where you don’t see one team in the final AP top 25 but you do get to see the worst team in the country (Go Golden Flashes)? On paper, 2024 looks to be much better with trips to Nebraska, Kansas State, and Georgia. I have 11 games on tap for the year, with a bonus FCS game at William and Mary. I managed only a couple double weekends which means more travel. And, of course, all of this is tentative. The older I get, the more likely I am to make reservations on a refundable status. It is more expensive, but with my creaky bones, I need the flexibility. Hopefully, my plans won’t change as much as the Power Five conferences have.

SMU vs Nevada

When I planned this trip, I was excited because, A) it opens the season one week earlier and B) a flight to Reno should have been relatively cheap. Little did I know that Burning Man kicks off that Sunday. Flights were starting at about $1K! However, we are resourceful at SoManyStadiums and will fly into SACtown instead. The other downside is that to tailgate at Nevada it costs $100 – a game! I took the plunge but it puts a lot of pressure on the Wolfpack experience. First time I will see Nevada play, which is pretty unusual these days.

VMI vs William and Mary

Obviously, this is a FCS bonus game. However, it is local for me and gives me a chance to give the tailgate equipment a quick test before a FBS game.

Colorado vs Nebraska

The third weekend of the season is a big one with the Nine O’clock club. It is NBC’s prime time game of the week which means we will need to pace ourselves. While these teams are not top tier, they do have some talent on their rosters. I can’t wait to meet up with Husker Nation as their fans are supposed to be the best.

UTEP vs Liberty

I have been to Lynchburg, Va several times but have never caught a game. Honestly, I normally want to spend as little time there as necessary. This game should be different. There’s no denying the football program is good but we will see about the tailgating. I have heard that discrete solo cups will not raise any suspicions. This will also be the first time to see the Liberty Flames in action.

Ball State vs Central Michigan

With a visit to see the CMU Chippewas host the Cardinals of Ball State, I will finally be able to close out the state of Michigan. I have set low expectations for this game. I will settle for decent weather and good game. Ball State is another newbie for Somanystadiums.

TCU vs Kansas and Oklahoma State vs Kansas State

Given that Kansas and Kansas State are only a little longer than an hour apart, I have always planned to hit them in the same weekend. While I have a couple of friends that have already pulled that off, it has been a challenge for me. I have had a double Kansas weekend on the schedule a couple of times, but it has always fallen to the wayside. It is tricky because as Power Five teams, their kickoff times aren’t determined until a week or two before the actual game. There is a real chance that they could overlap and cause me to have to come back to Kansas again. Nothing against the heartland, but there’s not much there to see, especially when it comes to Jayhawk football. (Not surprisingly, I have never see the usually lower tier Jayhawks as a visiting team.)

UPDATE: I discovered, or should I say my Airbnb host updated me that KU is renovating their stadium so they are playing in Arrowhead instead of in Lawrence. While technically within the rules of the bet as a home game, I am thinking of bagging this game. This means that I will have to make two trips to Kansas because of the 60 odd other home games that weekend, there is only one location that I have not been to – Kennesaw State, which is the following game on the schedule.

Jacksonville State vs Kennesaw State followed by Auburn vs Georgia

The timing of these two games is perfect. Kennesaw State is the appetizer on Friday with an SEC classic of Auburn at Georgia on Saturday. It will also be a weekend of firsts as of the four teams on the slate, I have only seen Auburn live.

Toledo at Northern Illinois

A slight let down coming from an SEC weekend to a MAC game, but it does come with a trip to Chicago. I see a deep dish pizza in my future.

Buffalo at Ohio University

Admittedly, I was not looking forward to back to back MAC games particularly deep into the autumn. Similar to Kansas’s historical performance, Ohio is another school I have never seen as a visiting opponent. Someone then mentioned something about a big annual Halloween party in Athens, OH. I did a little research and it appears to be the real deal. All of a sudden, I am very much looking forward to this game and further investigating this Halloween tradition.

Georgia Southern at James Madison

Of all the games on the schedule, this is the one most likely to be eliminated. This is fairly local for me, but any number of reasons could cause me to cancel. Tickets may be too high as when a visit to JMU last year by ESPN’s Game Day pushed tickets for the App State game over $200. Bad weather or just general fatigue may be another reason why I back out of the game. For now, though, it is on the schedule.