Lane Stadium secures Top 5 spot on The Athletic's toughest places to play list

SAN FRANSISCO, Calif. – After EA Sports released its top 25 toughest places to play, various media outlets offered their perspectives on the most challenging stadiums in college football. Among them, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, with his 30 years of experience covering the sport, curated his own top 10 list. Notably, he ranked Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium/Worsham Field at No. 5, placing it between Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium and Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as one of the NCAA's premier battlegrounds. 

The Athletic lauded Lane Stadium for its 'unique' atmosphere, drawing a comparison to the environment of No. 1 ranked LSU’s Tiger Stadium. Feldman commented, “It only takes the first two seconds of ‘Enter Sandman’ to play, and I get goosebumps. It happens every time, even more than a decade later.” The article highlighted how Lane Stadium transforms into an electrifying fortress, with "Enter Sandman" mirroring the Hokies' aggressive defensive style and their respected special teams.

Reflecting the criteria used by EA SPORTS in its rankings—such as home winning percentage, game attendance, active home winning streaks and team prestige—The Athletic reminisced about the Frank Beamer era, when Lane Stadium was known as a ‘chamber of horrors.’ Tech has several standout performances at Lane Stadium, including outscoring three Top 25 teams by a combined 119 points in 1999, a 26-8 victory over Nick Saban’s No. 14 LSU in 2002 and a 31-7 win over No. 2 Miami in 2003. The Hokies also defeated No. 6 West Virginia in 2004, and in 2005, they beat No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 13 Boston College by a combined score of 81-17. In 2009, they secured back-to-back top-20 wins over Nebraska and Miami.  

Under Brent Pry, the Hokies maintained a 4-2 home record in 2023, with The Athletic noting that Lane Stadium is poised to become ‘an opponent’s worst nightmare’ under his leadership. 

Experience the electrifying atmosphere of Lane Stadium firsthand. Secure your season tickets now and witness why Virginia Tech's home field is ranked among the toughest places to play.