If I were to claim that my school had more mowable square footage of grass than your school, would you want to toss on your old letter jacket and have a rumble in the parking lot? Probably not. But taking pride in your favorite institute of higher learning is a tradition as old as the schools themselves, and whether you attend as a student or cheer as a fan, everyone likes to see how their chosen school stacks up against the competition.
Here at TaskEasy we love our schools, too, so we used our amazing ScribbleSizer tool to see how their grounds measure up. We have started with the 128 schools in the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, and will post the results by conference here on our blog.
For our first match-up, we start in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), home to some of the most intense rivalries in collegiate sports. Not only is the SEC an historically rich conference with two schools founded in the 18th century (University of Georgia (1785) and University of Tennessee (1794), and a long tradition of sports success (eight of the past 10 football championships), but they are famous for large, beautiful campuses with ample, extensive lawns.
Which school wins when it comes to the size of their grass? Find out how your school measures up:
#14 - Vanderbilt University - 4,913,802 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1873
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 31
Interesting feature: The Bicentennial Oak, a tree that was alive during the Revolutionary War.
#13 - University of Tennessee - 5,182,020 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1794
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 33
Interesting feature: Ayres Hall, an iconic and historic landmark with distinctive checkerboard highlights.
#12 - University of Arkansas - 5,808,663 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1871
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 37
Interesting feature: Old Main, the oldest building on the campus and a symbol of the university.
#11 - University of South Carolina - 7,243,413 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1801
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 46
Interesting feature: South Carolina Library, the first freestanding university library in the United States.
#10 - University of Mississippi - 9,148,556 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1848Location: Oxford, MississippiNumber of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 58Interesting feature: The Grove, consistently ranked one of the greatest tailgating spots in the entire country.
#9 - University of Georgia - 10,081,859 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1785
Location: Athens, Georgia
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 64
Interesting feature: Old College, the oldest building on campus
#8 - University of Kentucky - 11,368,111 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1865
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 71
Interesting feature: Memorial Hall, a symbol of the university and a memorial to those who died in World War I.
#7 - University of Missouri - 16,585,433 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1839
Location: Columbia, Missouri
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 104
Interesting feature: Academic Hall Columns, the remains of the original main building of the campus, which burned down in 1892.
#6 - University of Alabama - 16,683,425 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1831
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 105
Interesting feature: The Quad, a 22-acre expanse that holds most of the university’s original buildings.
#5 - Louisiana State University - 18,394,811 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1860
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 115
Interesting feature: Reilly Theatre, home to the famous Swine Palace theatre company.
#4 - University of Florida - 20,763,451 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1853
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 130
Interesting feature: Auditorium Park, a pretty stretch of grass and trees that is home to the Century Tower and the University Auditorium.
#3 - Mississippi State University - 23,871,576 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1878
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 150
Interesting feature: Drill Field, the campus center and former training ground for the Corps of Cadets.
#2 - Auburn University - 24,092,390 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1856
Location: Auburn, Alabama
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 151
Interesting feature: Samford Hall, with its famous clock tower and chimes that play the university fight song every day at noon.
#1 - Texas A&M University - 36,110,255 campus grass square feet
Founded: 1876
Location: College Station, Texas
Number of 8-hour workdays it would take one person with a standard push mower: 226
Interesting feature: The Century Tree, a massive live oak that is the site of many marriage proposals and subsequent weddings.
Satellite map images courtesy of Google Images.
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