Inspired by another thread: Rank the SEC college towns

[drt7891]

This may have been done before, but what SEC cities are cool and which ones are bland? I'm going to include Starkville in this one, too... as unbiased as I can place it. My criteria are basically the town, how connected it is with the university, the character of the town as it relates to the university, and accessibility to those areas of character that make the town what it is. I've been to all of them except Columbia, MO, so I'll give it a shot:

1. Athens- The 6Pack nailed this one. Great restaurants, great bars, purest college town in the SEC
2. College Station- Another great college town atmosphere. Large enough to have plenty to do, full of die-hard Aggie fans, the town has plenty of character, small enough to get to where you need to go
3. Auburn- Partial to the smaller college town atmosphere. Giving the edge over T-Town because of better overall atmosphere
4. Tuscaloosa- VERY close to Auburn, but Tuscaloosa is bigger. The mile long stretch to campus is fun, but is so crowded to ever really enjoy it. Dreamland puts it close, though. Tuscaloosa has more unused potential than any other SEC town, I think.
5. Starkville- I lied... I'm partial to Starkville... bar selection is competitive, but Dave's, the Cotton District, Downtown, Rick's, and Stromboli's gave the edge to Starkville. Oxford is close, though
6. Oxford- Another great college town. Lots of character, good restaurants, good bars on the square... problem is, it is so flippin' crowded it's hard to get near the square on any night other than Mon-Wed. Gotta give the edge to Starkville for that.
7. Baton Rouge- Some bars close to campus, but BR is really a pretty big city. There are LUS fans everywhere, but nowhere that really connects you to campus... so I felt.
8. Fayetteville- Beautiful town. Ok College atmosphere. Giving Fayetteville the edge because it is small and location is nice.
9. Gainesville- Definitely did not live up to the hype.
10. Lexington- Not too impressed with Lexington, but enough of a connection with UK to make it a College Town
11. Nashville- I will get flamed most for this... and the only reason I give Nashville the edge over the last 2 is because it is a GREAT party town. If UT was in Nashville, it would be ranked number 1 by a long shot... but there is zero connection with the awesome party atmosphere with Vandy or Belmont.
12. Knoxville- Huge city. No real atmosphere to sell. Tourists don't go to Knoxville when they can go to Gatlinburg less than an hour away.
13. Columbia, SC- Hardly knew it was a college town.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Best "college town"? Athens and it is hands down. As for the rest, they are all fun. If you cant have fun while visiting, you arent trying.

Nashville is the "best" and most fun town.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

These are my rankings for best all around SEC college towns. It would be easier to rank them according to certain criteria i.e.: bars, fun, hot women, living conditions, local culture, food etc. I'll take a stab at this.

1-5 Athens- nothing is even close
6. Nashville- Great city, best to live there post grad. Tons of beautiful women and the music scene is top notch. Have to be ready for more of a city than a town.
7. Tuscaloosa- This town has a vibe. Hot Women and is a great SEC football atmosphere. There are lots of bars around town and the greek scene is great for the college kids.
8. Oxford- Yeah I know..... no matter that anybody says, Oxford is a cool college town. Great women, great music, great food. Dudes are douche bags, which gives me something to make fun of while I drink a $15 Jack and Coke
9. Fayetville- This town is loud and fun. Not really a "southern" type atmosphere but a great all around college town.
10. Lexington- -This is more like a Big10 atmosphere. The town has a fun downtown area. Its clean. Pretty fun town
11. Starkville- Don't get me wrong, I love Starkville and it's charm, but for an SEC college town is ranks near the middle. It's got a long way to go in terms of growing with the times. I would give it the most improved award for the last ten years. It has gone a LONG way in a short time. Cotton District is the SEC's best kept secret. Downtown has a long way to go. Just when I thought it was improving, bars and restaurants start shutting their doors. There is just not much of a selection or music scene anymore downtown.
12. Auburn- Pretty cool town. Like Starkville in alot of ways.
13. Knoxville- Not as good as I thought it would be.
14. Baton Rouge- Would not bother me if the entire city caught fire and ******* burned to the ground. This place is a ********. The world would be a better place without it.

The other towns I have not been to.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I like Nashville, but it's not a college town

Or we may as well name Las Vegas Vegas the most fun college town in America

 

[Wicked Pissah]

I know but what is a college town? Is it a town that wouldnt exist without the college?

If that is the case, any school on a major interstate isnt a college town.

Oxford is a great college town. Athens is a great college town. You couldnt pay me enough money to live in either.

I think nashville is the best town but if vandy wasnt here, it wouldnt miss a beat. It is just a loaded question.

Edit- if gt was in the sec, they wouldnt rank top 5 for town or college town for me. Same with austin. It obv isnt a college town but it is one of the best towns in america and id live there in a second.

So size doesnt necessarily make a town great.

 

[mcdawg22]

Athens is great, the only problem we had was after the game two years ago we wanted a good sit down place like the Veranda, where we could leisurely drink and eat a meal while watching the game, no one could tell us a place, everyone kept recommending Mellow Mushroom, finally we stumbled onto this place a couple of blocks from the main road that was perfect but it was pretty empty. Now that night the bar scene was top notch, hell even Aaron Murray paid his respects to us. I happen to love Red Stick, I love The Chimes even though I haven't been there in 8 years.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I think you're right

I think the college needs to be an integral part of the town.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

So basically....what ******** small town is the best???

Oxford
Starkville
Auburn
?????

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

Athens

UGA is ingrained in the town. Outside the SEC, Chapel Hill, South Bend, Charlottesville, etc.

 

[shotgunDawg]

Eugene, Oregon is an awesome college town as well. Blacksburg, VA is pretty good as well. I have never been to State College or Ann Arbor, but they both fit the bill of what a college town should be. A sleeper for best college town is Stillwater, OK. In the same way Nashville has been the birthplace of bands, Stillwater has been the breeding ground for country music.

 

[SkullCandy.sixpack]

The original post was about ranking college towns through the eyes of a recruit--a high school kid, that is likely urban or African American. Therefore, any town with a D1 with a college is in play. It seems reasonable to believe that the location of the school heavily influences the recruit, and may explain why certain schools seem to do well every year--regardless of the coaching staff. OM has Oxford, and it's no big town mecca, but they play up the party town reputation and hot coeds.

Starkville may not have the same appeal to many of these high schoolers--especially out of state ones--and may explain why we tend to lose recruits towards signing day. It's a fair question and may explain why our coaching staff tries to lock down in state recruits and keep them from visiting other campuses. Dunno...

 

[Wicked Pissah]

That is BS. Nothing an AA from decatur wants more than to go to the square, have a southern pecan draft at ajax and buy a 130 shirt with an alligator on it it.

If that was the case, vandy would have the #1 recruting class in america. Sec, best education and most fun.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I'm on the fence about Austin. It's big, buts its pretty UT-centric

I would probably put it number one if it counts.

/see, non-recruiting threads can be fun

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

Where in the OP did it even mention recruits perspective?

I sure as hell don't see it

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Skullcandy fail

 

[drt7891]

Wrong. I clearly laid out my criteria. Yea, it plays heavily towards the smaller SEC towns, but I wanted to base my rankings on how well the university was integrated in the town itself. Starkville, Oxford, Auburn, and Athens all do a great job of that. Knoxville, Columbia, SC, and Nashville don't. That's why I ranked them the way I did.

 

[SkullCandy.sixpack]

Go read the original thread--it was about recruiting...

How do YOU explain why U Texas, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, FSU etc always seem to get good recruits, year after year, regardless of coaches--they pay more? Get real. Get reality. The campus has a lot to do with it.

 

[Wicked Pissah]

That is because those4 are ****** ghost towns without those schools.

Basically, smaller the town with less inerstate access, "more collegey" it is

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Hey idiot. Find recruiting in the original post once. *******.

Yea, and when I think of towns that I could never pass up, tallahassee and la come to mind

 

[SkullCandy.sixpack]

See where it says "inspired by another post" THAT post. Go find it yourself. Yeah, everyone hates LA and T-town, that's why more people live in LA than the entire state of Mississippi. You don't think the town your going to live in for 4-5 years (i.e., more than a quarter of your life up to then) makes any difference to a recruit? Really??

 

[drt7891]

The original thread was about recruiting... but I didn't mention recruiting... the topic line says "inspired by another thread, rank what the best college towns..." not what recruits think are the best college towns. Maybe I should have been more clear, but I was running out of space.

I'm not going to try to stop you from thinking what you want, but I didn't mention recruiting.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

Inspired by does not equal "exactly the same"

And when the guy who started the damn thread tells you you're wrong, just sack up,and admit it. Or go hang out in "urban" Tallahassee...

And stop ruining a good thread, or you're going in time out.

 

[drt7891]

Haha, based on that, Scooba and Decatur would be the best college towns in America.

 

[SkullCandy.sixpack]

It's cool drt--it's you're thread. No, you didn't mention it, but since I read the thread that inspired you--which was about recruiting-- that's where I was coming from. What's the big 17ing deal, anyway? Have another beer, guys--it's the holidays. Makers Mark is good too.

 

[drt7891]

It's cool. I wouldn't have made a big deal, but I (along with others) would like the front page to not just contain threads related to recruiting or OM and their recruiting. That's why I stepped in and said something.

 

[SkullCandy.sixpack]

My bad. Signing off and heading for time out. It's cool to bring beer and Makers to time out, right?

 

[dorndawg]

Lawrence, KS deserves a strong consideration. Great town.

 

[chew1095]

Boilermakers, yummy!

 

[Maroonthirteen]

I have spent enough time in Fayetteville to know it is a much better college town than the over hyped town of Oxford, MS. I don't give a damn if Oxford has a square.

Fayetteville has a square. Fayetteville has Dixon Street to party after enjoying many more victories that occur than in Oxford. Everywhere you go up there, people are razorback crazy. Much more beautiful landscape and athletic venues. Many more local restraurants to choose from including the best steak you can find anywhere, Herman's. It isn't even close.

 

[thekimmer]

12. Knoxville- Huge city. No real atmosphere to sell. Tourists don't go to Knoxville when they can go to Gatlinburg less than an hour away.

Gatlinburg?! UGH! Pigeon Forge or Sevierville are OK. The scenery around GB is nice but the town is the epitome of tacky.

 

[ckDOG]

I like college towns.

nm

 

[ckDOG]

I know this is deviating from the original topic

but how in the hell can one arrive at the conclusion that Gatlinburg is tacky whereas Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are OK? The last time I checked, there was a titanic replica and an upside down building on that strip. That area looks like the love child of Las Vegas and Panama City Beach - with mountains.

 

[SidneyBurger]

The Cotton District has a lot of potential, but I think it is lacking in its current form. It really needs to expand, those little bars just crowd up way too fast for anyone to actually enjoy themselves on weekends. The bars are cool and the area does have personality, but it has a ways to go before it is worth us bragging about. There's also a house or two near the Bin that really need a makeover, they're an eye-sore on a main road.