College towns and football

College football weekends shape travel across Florida. Hotels fill, roads are busy and kickoff times are set late in the season, so check the team's own schedule before you book.

Gainesville: University of Florida (Alachua County)

Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County and the home of the University of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab) counted 141,085 people in Gainesville and 278,468 in Alachua County in 2020. Football is played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, which has an official capacity reported as 88,548. A multi-year renovation was announced in 2026; no capacity after it has been published, so we do not state one.

Tallahassee: Florida State University (Leon County)

Tallahassee is Florida's capital and the county seat of Leon County. The U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab) counted 196,169 people in Tallahassee and 292,198 in Leon County in 2020. Florida State plays at Doak Campbell Stadium, listed by the university at 67,277 after a renovation completed for the 2025 season.

Orlando: UCF

The University of Central Florida is in Orlando, so its football games are an easy add-on to an Orlando stay. The stadium is the Acrisure Bounce House. Check the schedule and tickets with the university.

Other Florida programs

The University of South Florida plays in Tampa (see Gulf Coast) and the University of Miami plays at Hard Rock Stadium (see South Florida).

Getting there

Gainesville and Tallahassee are north of Orlando. We give no drive times; check a live map, and expect heavy traffic and full hotels on home-game weekends. See our driving guide.

Population figures are from the 2020 U.S. census as reported by Wikipedia; we have not confirmed them on census.gov. Capacities come from university and press sources and can change.

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