ACC Campuses ranked

[BLH2P]

I’ve always been interested in the culture of different college towns, especially when making a trip there for a Pitt game.
It’s well known the Big Ten has some incredible college towns, but the ACC has some good ones too.
Here’s my ranking for the ones I’ve been to:
1. VT (beautiful campus, incredible atmosphere, picturesque fall scene)
2. UVA (also beautiful campus, and amazing college town)
3. Notre Dame (iconic gorgeous college town, one that I definitely associate more with the midwestern big ten)
4. Clemson (incredible tailgate scene and atmosphere although a pretty generic campus)
5. NC State (Severely underrated football atmosphere, nice campus)
6. GT (Bobby Dodd is a really great venue with the Atlanta skyline in the background. The Georgia Tech campus is kind of boring though)
7. Wake Forest (Nice, albeit small, campus with a cozy stadium)
8. Syracuse (Syracuse University is beautiful but the dome is really lethargic)
9. Pitt (increasingly scenic campus but with no on campus stadium and no atmosphere within the NFL stadium. My mouth waters at the thought of a Pitt stadium with the cathedral in the background in the now not polluted Oakland)
10. Louisville (commuter school vibe but in an ok southern-ish city. Plus they have their own stadium)
11. Miami (Coral Gables is OK but Hard Rock makes a terrible college atmosphere. At least Heinz has good scenery)

I haven’t been to Chapel Hill, Tallahassee, Chestnut Hill, or Durham.

 

[Millerton]

VT was not impressive at all. The worst stadium I've ever been too. The field was like my backyard with 4 dogs tearing it up. The student section was not defined whatsoever and lackluster. As far as the rest of the campus, I didn't get to see too much of it honestly so can't really comment on it. I've been to ND also and I did really like their campus. Very comfortable and beautiful. GameDay and stadium very nice also.

 

[ratking17]

I haven't been to all, but to have notre dames campus not #1 probably is a mistake. Gorgeous. Iconic.

Clemson tailgate was spectacular. The stadium is old and maybe some of their academic buildings are blah.

UVA campus is also really cool although I have never been to a game there.

 

[Ghost of Pitt Stadium]

I’ve been to most of these campuses but not necessarily on game day. I’d rank Notre Dame number 1. Virginia is also very nice. I’d place Pitt in the top 5 for architecture alone. The football game day atmosphere at Pitt may not be impressive but the Pitt campus is a jewel given its historical relevance and architectural significance.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

You put syracuse above pitt?

You suck and your list is worse

 

[pittchagg]

There’s a distinction to be made between the pure campuses and the towns/cities/neighborhoods in which the campus is located. I don’t think Blacksburg or South Bend are very impressive. Charlottesville and Chapel Hill are very nice. Pitt and Georgia Tech are in a little bit of a different category because it’s a little more difficult to differentiate the campus and the setting that the campus is in.

 

[Chescat]

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned Duke. The campus is incredibly beautiful.
Now, the city of Durham is in many places run down and kinda ugly, but the Duke
campus itself should be on the upper part of this list.

 

[tetonpanther]

Cuse is a dump the town amd the dome . Chspel hill is awesome. Boston college isnice but no tailgating

 

[razzaba]

This list is highly dependent on whether you are talking football atmosphere or the beauty of the campus and what it has to offer.

If the former, Notre Dame, Clemson, and FSU in that order. If the latter, UNC, UVA, and Notre Dame in that order.

 

[CJsE]

If this is meant to be "best college towns for visitors to a football game" then maybe I can agree with most of it. But if it's in general college campus for students then it's a crime to have Miami in last place.

 

[FallingRun84]

As many have said UNC is one you would enjoy. I have been to a game at VA Tech, big east days, and I agree great game day experience. Campus rocked the night before and fans were good time.

 

[Upg bobcat]

This is the ultimate beauty is in the eye of the beholder post ... I was completely unimpressed with Note Dame's campus (although football atmosphere was fantastic, no disputing that). I've only been to the ACC campuses of Pitt, Syracuse, BC, ND, UVa, and UNC, but I'd rank them 1. UVa, 2. UNC, 3. BC, 4. Pitt, 5. ND, 6. Syracuse.

 

[Ghost of Pitt Stadium]

There are 55 historic landmarks in Oakland alone. I doubt any other campus comes close.

 

[LivinWell]

The thread is best campuses yet you rank based on football tailgate and experience.

 

[President Stache]

Why did you put campuses instead of game day?

I honestly would almost flip the list around. I love Miami. Not sure how you can compare the beauty of the cathedral of learning and Heinz chapel vs any of these. With the total renovation of south Oakland it’s one of the best. Gtech maybe the worse. Vtech and Louisville is totally average, uva I love, Duke my alma mater I like too.

 

[chirurgo]

I’ve always been interested in the culture of different college towns, especially when making a trip there for a Pitt game.
It’s well known the Big Ten has some incredible college towns, but the ACC has some good ones too.
Here’s my ranking for the ones I’ve been to:
1. VT (beautiful campus, incredible atmosphere, picturesque fall scene)
2. UVA (also beautiful campus, and amazing college town)
3. Notre Dame (iconic gorgeous college town, one that I definitely associate more with the midwestern big ten)
4. Clemson (incredible tailgate scene and atmosphere although a pretty generic campus)
5. NC State (Severely underrated football atmosphere, nice campus)
6. GT (Bobby Dodd is a really great venue with the Atlanta skyline in the background. The Georgia Tech campus is kind of boring though)
7. Wake Forest (Nice, albeit small, campus with a cozy stadium)
8. Syracuse (Syracuse University is beautiful but the dome is really lethargic)
9. Pitt (increasingly scenic campus but with no on campus stadium and no atmosphere within the NFL stadium. My mouth waters at the thought of a Pitt stadium with the cathedral in the background in the now not polluted Oakland)
10. Louisville (commuter school vibe but in an ok southern-ish city. Plus they have their own stadium)
11. Miami (Coral Gables is OK but Hard Rock makes a terrible college atmosphere. At least Heinz has good scenery)

I haven’t been to Chapel Hill, Tallahassee, Chestnut Hill, or Durham.

Nice post.

Chapel Hill andDuke are both gorgeous campuses. Can’t speak for the football atmosphere but several friends who are Duke alums state it is virtually non-existent for Duke. That said Duke’s stadium looks a lot like Pitt Stadium did and is adjacent to Cameron.

BC is just outside of Boston in Chestnut Hill. Stadium is right size for BC. Parking is an issue there. if you ever go to a game there I recommend staying in Brookline or Boston and hopping the green line “T” to Chestnut Hill. One of the best transit systems in the country.

As for Pitt, I think the campus has made tremendous progress, but South Oakland(area between Forbes and Bates) is so run down it’s disgusting. It has only gotten worst in the last 20 years. I would recommend building Pitt Stadium there. And I don’t want to hear anybody complain about the University taking their home. It’s owned by a bunch of slumlords.

 

[hoclaw]

UVA is one my favorite road trips. The drive through central VA is amazing. Great places to eat. The grounds of UVA are in the top 5 campuses I've visited; along with ND, Princeton, UNC & Yale

 

[DT_PITT]

I’ve always been interested in the culture of different college towns, especially when making a trip there for a Pitt game.
It’s well known the Big Ten has some incredible college towns, but the ACC has some good ones too.
Here’s my ranking for the ones I’ve been to:
1. VT (beautiful campus, incredible atmosphere, picturesque fall scene)
2. UVA (also beautiful campus, and amazing college town)
3. Notre Dame (iconic gorgeous college town, one that I definitely associate more with the midwestern big ten)
4. Clemson (incredible tailgate scene and atmosphere although a pretty generic campus)
5. NC State (Severely underrated football atmosphere, nice campus)
6. GT (Bobby Dodd is a really great venue with the Atlanta skyline in the background. The Georgia Tech campus is kind of boring though)
7. Wake Forest (Nice, albeit small, campus with a cozy stadium)
8. Syracuse (Syracuse University is beautiful but the dome is really lethargic)
9. Pitt (increasingly scenic campus but with no on campus stadium and no atmosphere within the NFL stadium. My mouth waters at the thought of a Pitt stadium with the cathedral in the background in the now not polluted Oakland)
10. Louisville (commuter school vibe but in an ok southern-ish city. Plus they have their own stadium)
11. Miami (Coral Gables is OK but Hard Rock makes a terrible college atmosphere. At least Heinz has good scenery)

I haven’t been to Chapel Hill, Tallahassee, Chestnut Hill, or Durham.

Chapel Hill is incredible. Durham isn't quite as glorious, but ahead of Pitt. I like Oakland better than NC State.

 

[mike412]

As for Pitt, I think the campus has made tremendous progress, but South Oakland(area between Forbes and Bates) is so run down it’s disgusting. It has only gotten worst in the last 20 years. I would recommend building Pitt Stadium there. And I don’t want to hear anybody complain about the University taking their home. It’s owned by a bunch of slumlords.

How are you defining South Oakland as the area between Forbes and Bates? If that is South Oakland and the Pitt campus is Oakland, then where is Frazier Field, Childs Street, Cato Street, etc?

Having grown up on Oakland Avenue between Bates and Dawson, that area was Oakland. To us, South Oakland was the area between Blvd. Of the Allies and the Parkway/Second Avenue with Schenley Park as the eastern boundary.

 

[doubleAA's]

Why did you put campuses instead of game day?

I honestly would almost flip the list around. I love Miami. Not sure how you can compare the beauty of the cathedral of learning and Heinz chapel vs any of these. With the total renovation of south Oakland it’s one of the best. Gtech maybe the worse. Vtech and Louisville is totally average, uva I love, Duke my alma mater I like too.

Honestly can’t believe how nice south Oakland has gotten over the years. But yeah agree... NO ONE has the cathedral. It’s one of the most beautiful places in America

 

[chirurgo]

How are you defining South Oakland as the area between Forbes and Bates? If that is South Oakland and the Pitt campus is Oakland, then where is Frazier Field, Childs Street, Cato Street, etc?

Having grown up on Oakland Avenue between Bates and Dawson, that area was Oakland. To us, South Oakland was the area between Blvd. Of the Allies and the Parkway/Second Avenue with Schenley Park as the eastern boundary.

That’s why I put it in parentheses. We called that south Oakland when I was at pitt. Either way, the whole neighborhood between Bates and Forbes is a dump. May have been nice when you grew up there but it is in a state of disrepair.

 

[hoclaw]

The Cathedral is not just the centerpiece of campus, but a national treasure. It has always been fun to take folks there for the first time

 

[BurghGuy68]

UVA #1 and ND #2...both beautiful campuses. And both have tailgating wayyy far away from the stadium...long hike to the UVA stadium from the rest of the campus (I think walking from downtown Pittsburgh across the Clemente Bridge over to Heinz Field might be half the distance). And at ND they make you tailgate in a field 3 miles away and you take a bus to the stadium. I suppose they could do that with a new Pitt Stadium in another part of town.

 

[20-20Hindsight]

I'm sorry, Syracuse is a dump.