When UMass decided to play the vast majority of its home games inside on-campus Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, students and alums must have been thrilled. Before the start of the 2017 season, fans often had to commute to Gillette Stadium (capacity 68,756 and home of the New England Patriots) some two hours away, which resulted in attendance figures like 13,311 when the Minutemen faced Louisiana Tech in October of 2015.
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Instead of playing half its home games inside a massive stadium, UMass will play one-offs at Gillette when big programs come to town (BYU in 2018 being a prime example).
Georgia State, another recent FBS squad to ditch an NFL venue, packed its bags in 2017 and said goodbye to the home of the Atlanta Falcons. After playing in the Georgia Dome since the team's inception in 2010, the Panthers moved into the Atlanta Braves old digs at Turner Field. After a remodel and a little TLC, Georgia State now plays its home games under the sunshine of Georgia State Stadium.
With the Minutemen and Panthers moving into new homes recently, that leaves only five programs playing home games inside NFL venues.
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College Football Teams That Play Inside NFL Stadiums
Here are the five remaining FBS squads that play home games inside NFL stadiums.
There's a bit of a caveat for San Diego State, of course, who technically still play inside of a National Football League venue despite the Chargers moving to Los Angeles in 2017.
College Team | Stadium | NFL Team |
---|---|---|
Miami (FL) | Sun Life Stadium | Miami Dolphins |
Temple | Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia Eagles |
Pittsburgh | Heinz Field | Pittsburgh Steelers |
San Diego State | SDCCU Stadium | San Diego Chargers (1967-2016) |
South Florida | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
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