Best and worst fan bases in d2

[pm2011]

My thoughts...

1. Lenoir Rhyne - definitely has the best "game day" experience. Tailgating is small D1 type, fireworks, excellent facilities (all the things Bears & BearHOF said) but a lot of fans do not come into the actual game and those that do are very similar to a UNC basketball game... "Wine and Cheese". If LR is up, then the stadium is empty after halftime.
1. Newberry - Home side of the stadium is very out dated. I enjoyed the improvements that they have made so far and I believe I have seen that they will continue to improve the stadium?... However, I will say that their fans get ROWDY when it is a good game.
3. Wingate - Older stadium but they have a good many fans at the game and they stay involved. I will say that I miss the hedges in the endzones.
4. Carson Newman - Love the endzone facility that they have. Outdated inside but you can't tell from the outside. The large sidelines make the stadium feel a little bigger than it is. Visitor side is decent enough.
5. Catawba - I love their stadium and concourse area on the home side. Fans are not in attendance when they are bad. I can't remember what it was like when they were good. I don't like that the home side and visitor side don't connect.
6. Mars Hill - Depending on the year and the game, I could put them at 5. It definitely feels like they have had more fans in recent years than Catawba. Definitely louder. I also always enjoy watching Coach Clifton standing by the hashes for most of the game wearing his yellow vest and rocking his mullet.
7. Tusculum - Pioneer Field never has any fans regardless of how good or bad they are. Very quiet crowd. Overall facilities are decent. I hate how far visitors have to walk to the bathroom.
8. UVA Wise - Never an enjoyable place to drive to or watch a game. The last time I was up there was for the LR game in 2022. It says that 272 people were at the game. I remember counting less than 20 people on their side and I don't think THAT many LR fans were there.


I have not been to Anderson or Emory and Henry but both stadiums look like cool places to watch a game from what I have seen. Can you drink at Anderson?...

It is on the future plans.

The initial plans called for the update to the homeside, but it required the removal of those two massive trees behind the home stands (needed shade for hot days) and there were some who felt they need to rethink that. So they moved to the endzone first with the athletic training building, then to the visitor side and the Founder's Field House.

Setzler Field is one of (if not the) oldest continuous use college football stadiums in South Carolina (and maybe the country? not sure...) so there is a lot of history around that patch of land that people want to uphold. But, I've been pleased by what the college has done so far and what their plans are for the future.

But yeah, that home side is rough compared to the visitor's side now. Though, the homeside gets the benefit of shade and the visitors get to bake....

[canadarican]

Been there. Bowman-Gray is awesome and extremely unique. I said this earlier but it bears repeating, HBCU’s are the best atmosphere in the country during their homecoming and there’s no debating that fact.

Wasn't a homecoming, but had a chance to attend the Bayou Classic in New Orleans when we lived there....absolutely incredible.

[Eagle74]

Not D2, but I've been to a couple of UNC football home games, and was surprised by how subdued the crowd was ( a lot of older fans fill their seats). I found out that most of the crowd will stick around as long as they're winning or if the weather's real nice. In one game they went down by 20 by halftime and it became a mass exodus by the Tarheel fans to exit the stadium. Midway by the 3rd quarter we pretty much had most of the stadium to ourselves, other than the visitors section. Big difference compared to Death Valley over at Clemson or William Brice Stadium at USC.

[FootballCoach]

pm2011 that is really great info. Thank you! I believe you are correct. I think Newberry's stadium is the oldest in SC. Built in 1915! Swannee in TN has the oldest in the country. Built in 1891. Next being UPenn which was built in 1895

[BEARS]

Not D2, but I've been to a couple of UNC football home games, and was surprised by how subdued the crowd was ( a lot of older fans fill their seats). I found out that most of the crowd will stick around as long as they're winning or if the weather's real nice. In one game they went down by 20 by halftime and it became a mass exodus by the Tarheel fans to exit the stadium. Midway by the 3rd quarter we pretty much had most of the stadium to ourselves, other than the visitors section. Big difference compared to Death Valley over at Clemson or William Brice Stadium at USC.

I’m a fan of State so I have some THINGS TO SAY about UNC and their fan base (none of which are inaccurately stated in this post).

[cavsfan94]

My thoughts...

1. Lenoir Rhyne - definitely has the best "game day" experience. Tailgating is small D1 type, fireworks, excellent facilities (all the things Bears & BearHOF said) but a lot of fans do not come into the actual game and those that do are very similar to a UNC basketball game... "Wine and Cheese". If LR is up, then the stadium is empty after halftime.
1. Newberry - Home side of the stadium is very out dated. I enjoyed the improvements that they have made so far and I believe I have seen that they will continue to improve the stadium?... However, I will say that their fans get ROWDY when it is a good game.
3. Wingate - Older stadium but they have a good many fans at the game and they stay involved. I will say that I miss the hedges in the endzones.
4. Carson Newman - Love the endzone facility that they have. Outdated inside but you can't tell from the outside. The large sidelines make the stadium feel a little bigger than it is. Visitor side is decent enough.
5. Catawba - I love their stadium and concourse area on the home side. Fans are not in attendance when they are bad. I can't remember what it was like when they were good. I don't like that the home side and visitor side don't connect.
6. Mars Hill - Depending on the year and the game, I could put them at 5. It definitely feels like they have had more fans in recent years than Catawba. Definitely louder. I also always enjoy watching Coach Clifton standing by the hashes for most of the game wearing his yellow vest and rocking his mullet.
7. Tusculum - Pioneer Field never has any fans regardless of how good or bad they are. Very quiet crowd. Overall facilities are decent. I hate how far visitors have to walk to the bathroom.
8. UVA Wise - Never an enjoyable place to drive to or watch a game. The last time I was up there was for the LR game in 2022. It says that 272 people were at the game. I remember counting less than 20 people on their side and I don't think THAT many LR fans were there.


I have not been to Anderson or Emory and Henry but both stadiums look like cool places to watch a game from what I have seen. Can you drink at Anderson?...

I haven't been to a game in several years, but that's disheartening to read. I know they haven't had a good team in a long time, so apathy seems to be a factor.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

In the late 2000s to early 2010s, the West Texas A&M fanbase was great. They routinely would draw over 10,000 fans and reached over 20,000 fans during a couple of rivalry games. For a time even road games were televised by the local network. Sadly those days are a very distant memory.

[laker]

Grand Valley is tough to beat.

Really underrated? Winona.

As a NSIC fan I would agree with WSU. You are right on top of the action at Maxwell. It gets loud.

[canadarican]

Worst fan base in the SAC is a particular group: LMU basketball. Hands down. By a country mile.