Technical difficulties with our hosting server, Blue Host has held us back a day from concluding our Toughest Venues list.

With Camp Randall Stadium taking the bronze in our Toughest Venues list, it is official. The top spot is now a two horse race between Beaver and Ohio Stadium.

Though we have praised the home field records of other Big Ten venues, they are mere sandlots when compared to the fortress that Camp Randall has been for the Badgers. A 88% winning percentage over the last 5 years, including 3 undefeated home seasons, it is almost impossible to beat Wisconsin in Madison.

ATTENDANCE: 8

Camp Randall Stadium (Capacity: 80,321)
	Home Games	Overall attendance	Avg. attendance/ game
2007	7	572,227	81,747
2006	7	569,576	81,368
2005	6	495,308	82,551
2004	6	494,209	82,368*
2003	7	549,404	78,486*

* The official capacity of Camp Randall during the 2004 and 2003 seasons was 76,129 due to restructuring in the student section.

If you build it, they will come. Wisconsin has no trouble filling Camp Randall as the previous five seasons have featured capacity crowds for all their home games. Even during the 2003 and 2004 seasons when renovations in the student section temporarily reduced capacity to 76,129, Badger fans have consistently packed the venue well beyond the official capacity.

Unfortunately the University of Wisconsin has felt no need to expand Camp Randall any further. As the fourth oldest stadium in the nation, it is a miracle the structure has not crumbled apart yet, especially when 50,000 fans bounce up and down literally shaking the venue.

But until the University decides to increase the capacity of Camp Randall, Wisconsin will always be a second rate venue to the mega structures that sit atop the conference. You simply can’t compete both revenue and fan base wise with stadiums that consistently draws over 100,000 fans every Saturday.

It is therefore not the lack of fan support, but rather an institutional (venue) limitation that holds Wisconsin back in this category.

TRADITION/HISTORY: 7

You can make the argument that it is the Wisconsin Badgers that has had the most consistent success in the Big Ten recently. In the last half-decade, the Badgers have compiled a 45-14 overall record and won 2 out of 4 bowl games against SEC opponents.

Home of Heisman winners Alan Ameche (1954), and Ron Dayne (1999), 6 Rose Bowl appearances, a 10-9 record overall in their bowl games, and 11 Big Ten championships, it is hard to imagine that the Badgers have no national championships under their belt.

We can’t exactly punish the Badgers for their lack of national titles, they have achieved almost everything else just short of one. But we can’t rank them higher in this category than schools with multiple championships sitting in their display cases. So with that in mind, the Badgers get a disappointing 7 in the tradition/history category.

FANS: 11

From a chapter almost taken directly from Hayden Fry’s psychological games (pink locker rooms), you can’t help but be a little intimidated when you are submerged in a sea of red.

If pink has a calming effect, red surely has the opposite effect. Add that to fans notorious for their alcohol consumption prior to the game, you have a sure fire way to amp up crowd noise.

Now imagine 80,000 of those fans decked out in Badger red amassed together in Camp Randall with one unifying purpose, to cheer on their Badgers to victory. Coaches and players interviewed over the years have repeated praised Camp Randall as one of the toughest home environment to play in not only in the Big Ten, but in the nation.

And don’t think your team is off the hook just because the game against the Badgers isn’t at Camp Randall. Wisconsin fans are notorious for traveling well. In their last 3 Rose Bowl appearances, Wisconsin fans made up for 70% of those in attendance. Badger fans travel in large numbers and in their unifying red attire, the visiting Wisconsin fans stand out amongst the home fans.

But think long and hard before you decide to take your child to a Badger football game though. As famous as Badger fans are for their rabid support, they are even more notorious when it comes to language used at a game. One of the more popular chants at Camp Randall involves the student section yelling between each other. The left half of the student section will yell “F–k you” which prompts the right half to respond with “Eat Shit”. Childish and a tad unnecessary in providing home support, but tradition is tradition no matter how crude and pointless.

VENUE: 10

Originally built in the horseshoe configuration with a running track surrounding the field, the stadium was renovated with the removal of the track and new stands placed in front of the Field House and the addition of the upper deck and luxury boxes. Not only did that enclose the field, it funnels crowd noise and holds it on the field allowing it to resonate within the stadium with no where else to go.

This in addition to the rabid fans that pack Camp Randall, this venue is absolutely terrifying for opposing teams and their fans.

Then theres ‘Jump Around’. When the 12,500-member student section begins bouncing in unison to House of Pain’s song, the stadium trembles and shakes. Unfortunately for those sitting in the upper deck, Badger fans have taken a cue from the student section and have adopted the tradition as their own. That would make it over 50,000 people bouncing up and down in a stadium built to hold just over 80,000. It has caused the stadium to shake so vigorously that fans in the upper deck, where the swaying can be felt the most have voiced their concerns forcing the University to conduct structural integrity tests to reassure the safety of their fans:

The uneasiness that is created during “Jump Around” for some upper-deck fans is certainly real, Wiley says. “For some fans, the uneasiness they feel translates into a feeling of being in a situation that is unsafe,” he says. “Because of the many concerns raised, I’m asking upper-deck fans to refrain from jumping out of consideration for their neighbors and to take the opportunity, instead, to cheer on the student section.”

“The amplitude of the motion in the upper deck, while enough to be physically noticeable, is actually very, very small, and far below any risk to the structural integrity of the deck.”

If only they could also alleviate the fear visiting teams feel when they are standing smack dab in the middle of this human carpet of madness.

WIN/LOSS RECORD: 10

	Home				Away
	W	L	W vs ranked	L vs ranked	W	L	W vs ranked	L vs ranked
2007	7	0	#12 Michigan	-	2	3	-	#1 Ohio St
2006	7	0	-	-	4	1	-	#6 Michigan
2005	5	1	#14 Michigan	-	4	2	#22 Minnesota	#10 Penn St
2004	6	0	-	-	3	2	#15 Ohio St #5 Purdue	#17 Iowa
2003	4	3	#6 Ohio St	#13 Purdue #12 Iowa	3	2	#23 West Virginia	#20 Minnesota
overall	29	4	3	2	16	10	4	5

The numbers don’t lie. 4 losses out of 33 games in the past 5 seasons. A stunning 88% home winning percentage puts the Badgers second in the Big Ten in statistical home wins. Then add to the fact that the Badgers have not lost to a home game since 2005 or to a ranked team since 2003, there is no doubt this is one of the toughest environment to win at in the Big Ten if you are the visiting team.

TOTAL: 46 OUT OF POSSIBLE 55

With almost top scores in 3 out of 5 categories, it was ultimately the lower scores in the attendance and tradition categories that left the Badger just short of the top 2 spots.

Have you attended a game at Camp Randall? Let us know how your experience went. Your memories of the venue might differ greatly from our perspective and we would like to know.

---

Releated Posts:

1. We (really do) determine when you hear the snap count
2. Meadowlands to continue Penn State – Syracuse rivalry
3. Beaver Stadium Scoreboard Changes
4. Penn State Football Student Tickets: Senior allotment exhausted
5. Big Ten Basketball Schedule Released: Penn State Screwed Over