The Pac-12 is in a continual arms race. We examine where teams stand in 2020.
Photo: goducks.com
Article By: Nick Battey
12. Washington State
The facilities have greatly improved but recruiting to Pullman will always be difficult. Martin Stadium is a special place to take in a football game on a Saturday night, but sometimes there is only so much in your control and that’s the case here. WSU spent $61M on a stadium renovation earlier in the decade and $61M on a football operations building in 2014.
Photo: Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
11. Arizona
Arizona doesn’t have anything really bad about their facilities or anything else for that matter. But it’s always an arms race in college football and they simply weren't keeping up. That could change in the coming years as Arizona looks to remodel the West side of the stadium after spending $60M on the East side renovation a couple years ago. The Wildcats also spent $16.5M on an indoor practice field in 2019 and in 2013 Arizona unveiled a $72.3M football operations building.
Photo: University of Arizona
10. Utah
Utah is in the process of giving Rice-Eccles Stadium a major renovation that will allow the Utes to continue to compete at a high level and should help attract elite recruits. The renovation is projected to cost $80 million and will increase capacity by 5,637 from 45,807 to 51,444 The upgrade will include premium seating and upgraded locker rooms. Utah also has the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center that was built for $32 million in 2013. We expect Utah to climb this ranking once the renovation is complete.
Photo: Utah Athletics
9. Stanford
It’s suddenly been a well over a decade since Stanford Stadium was completely renovated, and since then Stanford hasn’t kept up with the rest of the conference. Despite that though, Coach Shaw has continued recruiting at a very high rate. Stanford spent $90M on their stadium in 2006 and then in 2013 added on to their existing football operations building with a $21M addition that included new locker rooms.
Photo: Stanford Athletics
8. California
Cal and Stanford seem to be in an arms race against each other, as when one of them does something the other will quickly follow suit. Cal gets ranked ahead of Stanford here because their renovation was more recent. Other than that they’re very comparable. The Bears spent $321M to renovate their stadium in 2012.
Photo: Cal Athletics
7. Oregon State
Many people don't realize it but Oregon State sneakily has some of the best football facilities in the country. The Beavers unveiled a $42M football operations building in 2017 that greatly improved their locker room and gave them a ton of amazing amenities. Reser Stadium will be undergoing a $140M renovation that should bump them up this list in coming years.
Photo: OSU Athletics
6. UCLA
How can UCLA be number 6 when they play at the Rose Bowl? Well, when your practice facilities are miles away from the stadium that certainly isn’t ideal. The Bruins did open a state of the art football center in 2017 at a cost of $65M but the dividends in recruiting have yet to be recognized during the Chip Kelly era.
Photo: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
5. Colorado
Boulder is definitely a top college town in America with the Rockies overlooking the campus. That location really helps them on this list, because it has been a long time relatively speaking since Folsom has had a major renovation to the entire stadium. The Buffs did unveil a $177M upgrade that included the northeast side of the stadium and a new Champions Center attached to the stadium with gorgeous design and features.
Photo: Colorado Athletics
4. Arizona State
Arizona State finished a $300M stadium renovation in 2019 and Tempe has never looked cooler, especially with Herm Edwards at the helm. They did an excellent job making the facilities some of the best in college football and recruits have taken notice as the Sun Devils recruiting has taken off.
Photo: ASU Athletics
3. Washington
“The Greatest Setting in College Football” gives Washington something that no other program can match. The view is spectacular and easily the best in College Football. The Huskies renovated their stadium in 2013 for $280M and renovated their locker room in 2017 for $1M.
Photo: Ben Miller/University of Washington)
2. USC
The pull of Los Angeles and everything that comes with it is something that not many other teams can compete with. The Trojans renovated their stadium for $315M in 2019 and also built a $70M football operations building in 2012.
Photo: USC Athletics
1. Oregon
Oregon has been and continues to be the gold standard when it comes to the facilities of college football. While other schools have emulated what Oregon and Nike have done, there’s still few who can compare to the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene that was built for $68 million. The Ducks also unveiled the Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center in 2016 at a cost of $19.2M.
Photo: Oregon Athletics