SEC coach calls ‘The Swamp’ a top 15 stadium in the world

EA Sports ranked Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the No. 7 toughest place to play in college football. But according to Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, The Swamp is one of the best venues in the world — regardless of sport. During his SEC Media Days appearance Monday on SEC Network, Drinkwitz was discussing the difficulty of playing at opposing stadiums in the league and referenced Florida’s 29-21 win over No. 9 Texas last season. “We don’t get credit for the environments that we play in,” Drinkwitz said. “We were told that Texas was downgraded for their bad loss versus Florida. Guys, Florida had a bunch of players drafted. But have you been to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium? It’s one of the top 15 stadiums in the world. In the world. If you have a ranking of top 15 stadiums in the world, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is gonna be one of them.” Drinkwitz has coached in Gainesville twice, but the first time was during the 2020 COVID season with a reduced crowd. Florida won 41-17, the teams had a halftime brawl and Dan Mullen dressed as Darth Vader. The Tigers last played at The Swamp in 2022 and lost 24-17. UF travels to Missouri this year on Oct. 3. New Gators coach Jon Sumrall, a former Kentucky linebacker (2001-04), played at The Swamp in 2004 with the Wildcats. Sumrall called the stadium “electric” and said Florida’s “Won’t Back Down” tradition gives him chills. “When I’ve played here before,” Sumrall said, “I was like, this is freaking awesome, this is so cool. I remember the student section as a player … and the student section was right behind our bench. I felt like they were — I could touch them almost, they were that close. So ’04, I started that game here. They kicked the dogmas out of us. But I remember the students just going, ‘Gator bait, Gator bait, Gator bait.’ And I’m like, will these people just get away from me for a minute. Just the energy, man. This place is electric. That’s what I remember from my experiences in The Swamp, and I can’t wait to create some better ones for me.” Starting in 2027, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will undergo a $1.45 billion makeover. It’s the most expensive stadium renovation in college football history. The multi-phase project is targeted for completion before the 2030 season. EA Sports ranking of the top 25 stadiums RankStadiumTeam1Tiger StadiumLSU2Ohio StadiumOhio State3Beaver StadiumPenn State4Sanford StadiumGeorgia5Bryant-Denny StadiumAlabama6Autzen StadiumOregon7Ben Hill Griffin StadiumFlorida8Neyland StadiumTennessee9Memorial StadiumClemson10Kyle FieldTexas A&M11Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumOklahoma12Michigan StadiumMichigan13Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial StadiumTexas14Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn15Husky StadiumWashington16Williams-Brice StadiumSouth Carolina17Memorial StadiumIndiana18Rice-Eccles StadiumUtah19Kinnick StadiumIowa20Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame21Doak S. Campbell StadiumFlorida State22Lane StadiumVirginia Tech23Carter-Finley StadiumNC State24LaVell Edwards StadiumBYU25Davis Wade StadiumMississippi State