When we set up the SoManyStadiums Tour for 2024, I knew flexibility would be the key given how close we are to the end and given the potential travel constraints. I started out with a twelve-game schedule with eleven new stadiums. I ended up hitting thirteen games but four were either repeats or non FBS. In the end that means nine more stadiums were added to give me a total 120 stadiums in the books.
Once again, the state of Kansas was the victim. I dropped that weekend when I realized that the Kansas game was going to be played in the Chief’s Arrowhead stadium while the Jayhawks’ stadium was being rebuilt in Lawrence.
As we started out in late August, our biggest concern with going to Reno to see the Wolfpack was potentially hot weather in Nevada. It turns out those fears were unfounded as we froze our butts off in record cold weather. We did not plan on snow in August. However, with a seasoned crew of SMS veterans supported by our good friends and gracious hosts Rob and Dianne, we still had a blast. Reno was impressive, and the game was great. Nevada was 26.5 underdog and nearly beat the SMU team that ultimately made the FBS playoff. In retrospect, it was one of the best games of the regular season.
I took the following week to do a tailgating dry run at William and Mary with some of my local friends. The Tribe is not an FCS powerhouse, but the program is well established, and they had no problem with VMI. This game was more about relaxing with friends both old and new. It also gave me a chance to finally see a game in my new hometown. It would certainly be the easiest game of the season. Unfortunately, it does not count toward my stadium total.
The following week it was onto a classic stadium with the Five O’clock crew in tow, or least some of them. We had agreed on this game, Colorado vs Nebraska, way back in May with attendee numbers as high as eleven. I booked a big house right next to campus to make sure we would have a great time in Lincoln. By the time the game rolled around, our numbers were down to three and I had to scramble for an Airbnb, settling only for Friday night in Lincoln. We ended up having to spend Saturday night in Omaha. It was not a big deal because as the moniker suggests, our crew was ready for bed when the game ended on Saturday night. The other thing was the cost. This game was expensive, really expensive. Tailgating and tickets alone were over $500, with an all in cost over $1,500. It was a new record. Still, it was just about worth every penny. We had a blast. The only drawback was that the game was not particularly good. Nebraska rolled all over Colorado. The Buffs were loaded with stars, but on this night, they did not shine.
Liberty was up next, and I was struggling to find anyone to go to the game with me. The, the football gods thankfully intervened. Or more specifically, my cousin Phil did. It took me about a second to cancel the Liberty game and instead take him up on his invite to join him at the Backyard Brawl. The annual classic between Pitt and WVU did not disappoint. It is hard to beat tailgating with IC Light, pepperoni balls and Smith’s hotdogs. The Panther’s last second upset win was the icing on the cake.
Central Michigan was another game that I could not get anyone interested in attending. In the end, I kinda, sorta sweetened the pot with my wife, offering a couple of days at Mackinac Island before the game. After getting our fill of fudge and horse droppings, we made our way a couple of hours south to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to check the Chippewa box. With low prep and no expectations to tailgate, we were stunned to find cheap and easy access to the main tailgating lot right next to the stadium. After chatting with the locals, we headed into the stadium. On paper this game did not look special, but the actual game was riveting. There were three scores in the last three minutes with a thrilling finish. My wife grudgingly agreed that the game was a lot of fun. Based on our trip, Central Michigan vaulted to the top of the lil’ Michigans list, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan be damned.
After five weeks of games, I was dragging, and the upcoming Kansas weekend was weighing heavily on my mind. I really did not want to go between Arrowhead in Kansas City and then out to the little Apple (Manhattan) to see Kansas State. Again, the fates intervened when my brother called me and asked if we wanted to join his family at the Outer Banks for the weekend. With everything still cancellable, I did my best Georgia Bulldog wideout impression and dropped the Sunflower State with ease. (Yes, Bulldog receivers had the most drops in 2024).
After a few days at the beach, I was ready to get back after it, especially since I was hitting an SEC classic of Auburn at Georgia. Additionally, I was hosted by my old college buddy and fellow DB, P. Smith. Unfortunately, before my tradition-rich tailgating experience, I had to stop at a program that was literally in its FBS infancy, the Owls of Kennesaw State. The game day experience at Ken-State did a lot of things right, but they also get some things wrong. In particular, advance sales only to a tailgating lot that is nearly empty is not one of them. On the field, the Owls kept the first half close against their rivals, Jacksonville State. However, once the Gamecocks band came out to play, this game was over. Not only did the Jax State band own the stadium, but the football team also ripped off three straight scores to start the third quarter. With Owls turning the ball over left and right, the game was over in a hurry.
The bad game on Friday did not spoil my mood for Saturday as I was tailgating on campus with a group that has been doing it for over thirty years. Rarely do I get treated to such an austere group. The experience exceeded all expectations. From great food to cornhole in the shade and a private porta potty, it was high times indeed. That my son and his girlfriend were able to join made it that much better. The game was okay. Georgia won handily, but did not cover. Another lost wager in what would turn out to be my poorest betting season to date. More notably, it was the tailgating experience that stood out. It was a good reminder of how special tailgating can be with an established set of fans. Everything about this group was organized from the menu to the seating. It is hard to replicate that experience when you jump from stadium to stadium. When this crazy run of college towns and games is finished, I may find myself establishing roots in one program to have the same experience.
For now, however, it is always on to the next game. In this case, it was finally time to head to Lynchburg, Va to see the red-hot Liberty Flames. Given that it is a dry campus, I decided a Tuesday night game probably wasn’t much different than a Saturday game especially because I was going solo. In retrospect, I certainly hope the weekends are better, because the tailgating was non-existent over three lots right next to the stadium. The in-game experience at Liberty is far different than any other place I have been. The word weird comes to mind, perhaps unfairly. Suffice it to say, games in Lynchburg are not typical. As for the action on the field, I had expected the undefeated Flames to run roughshod over a 2-4 FIU team. Instead, they scrapped by with a last-minute win. It was a harbinger of things to come, as they would lose to the lowly Ken-State Owls just a couple of weeks later. In the end, I was very happy to have wasted only a Tuesday night at Liberty.
The Tuesday game in Lynchburg had the benefit of giving me an open weekend which was a good thing because I was looking down the barrel of four straight weekend games. While reviewing my upcoming schedule, I realized that Virginia Tech had a Thursday night game against BC that I could squeeze in before my flight on Friday to Chicago for my NIU trip. While not exactly on the way, the ticket was cheap and night games at Lane Stadium are sublime. After a great Hokie win, I found myself silently entering an Airbnb house post midnight with the hopes that I wouldn’t hear a shotgun loading in the background. Less than five hours later, I was up and on the road to DC to catch a flight to Chicago and another meeting with some more members of the Nine o’clock club.
My buddy Mike was kind enough to let me shack up in his place in Winnetka, one of the small-town U.S.A. favorites of the 80’s filmmaker John Hughes. I love staying in that town so much that at some point Mike is probably going to have had enough of my visits. Dekalb was an easy drive from Winnetka where we met up with another Nine o’clocker, Lou, and his son. Northern Illinois is a nice enough environment, not offensive in the least – cheap, spacious and friendly. Sadly, the game was the same – not offensive at all. And by that, I mean to say there was virtually no offense in the game. The final score was Toledo 13, NIU 6 in a dud that was only slightly more interesting than watching paint dry. Thankfully, Nine o’clockers are always fun, so it still turned out to be a great day.
The next week, another SMS regular, Bob, joined me in Athens, Ohio to see the Bobcats host the Bulls of Buffalo University. I chose this weekend because it was also the 50th anniversary of the annual Athens Halloween Party. I couldn’t see going to Athens more than once so why not kill two birds with one stone. The OU campus has a warm, small school vibe and with the changing leaves, a scenic one as well. It was not much of a game as Ohio U was having a great year and controlled this game throughout. We did get to see a blocked PAT returned for a 2pt conversion which I don’t think I have ever seen live. The Bobcat band performed with flair and was certainly a highlight of the game. Our post-game meal was not. It is hard to screw up a steak, but our restaurant did, twice. Later, we checked out the Halloween party in time to catch an ‘80s band. The crowd at the point was sufficiently mixed in age that we didn’t feel silly. However, as the stream of inebriated college students grew, we left hoping they would make good choices.
I wrapped up my official count for the year the following week. It was also a third meeting with some of the Nine o’clockers. Jeff was visiting his new grandson in D.C., and he was bringing newcomer Drew with him to the game. I got to JMU first to set up and the boys (and their boys) arrived about an hour later. I had anticipated going to a Madison game often. For years, I would see their stadium from Route 81 as I headed south to either Roanoke or Blacksburg and would look forward to the day I would be in the stands. From tailgating with friendly fans to throwing streamers down a packed stadium with some unique traditions, the JMU experience was very good. The only downer was the actual game. The Dukes hammered the Georgia State Panthers from the jump.
I thought I was done tailgating for the year after JMU, but my Managerial Finance students at Christopher Newport had different ideas. I was going to the game solo but told my students I would tailgate if they joined me. I was surprised by their enthusiastic response. I was not surprised that the number that showed up was smaller than planned. They may be adults, but they just got out of their teens. I have learned reliability is often aspirational with college students. Nonetheless, the fifteen or so that stopped by were great fun. As for the Captains, they rolled, winning by 39.
My final game was with my buddy Q and his family as I met them in D.C. for the Army – Navy game. Q is a West Point grad, and he had introduced me to Army games nearly fifteen years ago. It may have been a neutral site game, but it is one every true college football fan should attend at least once, It was a fitting way to end another great season, knocking out a bucket list item with great friends.
Games and Teams
Total Games Attended: 9, down 1 from 2023 (although if you include all the games, the number is 13)10, down 1 from 2021 (although if you include D3, number is 13)
Best Team Seen: Georgia (#6)
Final AP Top Twenty-Five Teams Seen: Four, two that made the playoffs (Georgia and SMU). Much better than 2023 when I saw zero AP Final Top 25 teams.
Worst Team: 2 -10 Kennesaw State (#6 in the Bottom 10). Finally, a year where I don’t see the worst team in the country
Best Game Seen: Pitt 38 – WVU 34, 9/14/24. The intense rivalry of the Backyard Brawl puts it over a great game at CMU (CMU 37 – Ball State 34). Honorable mention to SMU 29 – Nevada 24 and Liberty 31 – FIU 24.
Worst Game Seen: Toledo 13 – NIU 6, 10/19/2024: I saw bigger blowouts, but this game really had nothing. Hard to believe a one score game could have virtually no drama.
Bowl Game Teams Seen: 15 (up 3 from prior year)
The Players
College Award winners seen: Two, Travis Hunter of Colorado, Heisman, Fred Biletnikoff and Chuck Bednarik Award and Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College DE, Ted Hendricks Award
All Americans: 14, with 6 consensus – A banner year
The Stadiums (of 2024 visits)
Best Stadium: Sanford Stadium – Georgia. Great views and atmosphere with concessions that are well managed.
Worst Stadium: Huskie Stadium – Northern Illinois. A standard, inoffensive design but the sound system was atrocious.
Best Game Day Experience: Nebraska squeaks in over Georgia. Big time, Big 10 experience – expensive but worth it. It is true – nicest fans you will meet.
Easiest Stadium to Get To: Kelly / Shorts Stadium – Central Michigan, Mount Pleasant, MI. Easy drive from Detroit with great access to prime tailgate lot for $25 cash.
Hardest Stadium to Get To: Williams Stadium – Liberty, Lynchburg, Va. Lynchburg is in the middle of nowhere. The beautiful scenery is offset by a dry and sleepy town.
Best Concessions: Mackay Stadium – Reno, NV. Any concession that is prepared with hot chocolate in August is a great one.
Worst Concessions: Fifth Third Stadium – Kennesaw State, Kennesaw, GA. Generic concessions and no souvenir cup.
Best Souvenir: Fifth Third Stadium – Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA. Free Ken State t-shirt, poster and pom-pom.
Worst Souvenir: Mackay Stadium – Reno, Nevada. No souvenir cup and a $30 hat – ouch.
Best Cup: The struggle to get good, really any, souvenir cups continued this year. The Nebraska cup looks good in your hand but not on the shelf. Therefore, the winner goes to Ohio University with a clean logo and no corporate advertising.
Worst Cup: : I know Georgia has a thing with spray painted gold shoulder pads, by it makes for a dumb looking souvenir cup. At least they had a cup. Shame on you Nevada, CMU, Kennesaw State and NIU (who served fountain drinks but didn’t offer a souvenir cup).
The Costs
Total Season Spend: $7,800 ($5,200 ex mileage) is up from the prior year ($6k+) but four of my games were neutral site / non FBS so I only added nine stadiums to my count. It was a solid mix of flying and driving this year. Next year I may only be driving to a couple of games.
Average per Game: ~$600 (ex-mileage ~$400) about the same as last year. However, the average for new stadiums was a whopping $760 (ex-mileage ~$560).
Most Expensive Ticket: Colorado vs Nebraska – $395 actual (Stubhub) with a $80 face
Cheapest Ticket: Liberty $9 versus a face value of $35. Of the four that were either neutral field or non FBS, three tickets were free, and one was $20.
Average Ticket Price Paid: $67, up $40 versus 2023 and much higher than normal. If you average the nine new stadiums, the number is worse, $94.
Average Savings on Tickets over Face Value: I paid an average of $8 over face. Excluding the free games, it was $41 over face. The irony is that I only paid over face value for two games, Nebraska and Georgia. The “Loss” on those two was over $500 in total.
Miscellaneous
Miles Driven: ~5,100 vs 1,800 in 2023
Miles Flown: ~9,600 (Reno, Omaha, Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati)
Double Game Weekends: Two – Kennesaw State / Georgia, Pitt / NIU
Best Fans: Nebraska. Great tailgating, although Georgia was a very close second
Worst Fans: JMU with an asterisk. Considering that Indiana had poached their previous head coach and about half their starters, my buddy Jeff, in his cream and crimson jacket, probably deserved the insults that were yelled at him in the JMU tailgate lot.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Central Michigan. Easy tailgating and a great game.
Most Unpleasant Surprise: Snow in August in Reno. WTF!
Lesson Learned / Re-affirmed: You are going to pay a lot more for big games when you place constraints on yourself – like having three people that had to sit together (Nebraska) or trying to get the same section as my buddy’s (Georgia). Also at Georgia, my son bought his tickets about an hour before kickoff for similar seats as mine but in the shade for half the price. The student had become the master.
My Regular Season Pick Record: 24 – 36. My first year below .500. I started poorly and never got on track.
Conclusion:
120 stadiums in and now it is getting tight. 2024 was the first year where I encountered a weekend where every home game was at a stadium where I had already been. Scheduling is going to be a challenge from here on. Thanks to everyone who has got me this far and see you in the Fall.
