New National List Is a Slap in the Face to MSU Football Fans

A new list ranks East Lansing as the 4th-best college football town in Michigan. Of course, Ann Arbor is #1 - but you might be surprised to see who else beats the Spartans.

The personal finance website WalletHub is out with its list of the "Best & Worst Cities for Football Fans (2025)". It breaks its results down among cities with pro teams and those with college teams - and it's embarrassing to see where East Lansing - home of the Michigan State Spartans - lands on the list.

How America's Best College Football Towns Were Determined

WalletHub checked out several different metrics when determining America's best towns for college football. The site considered the number of conference and overall championships the city could claim; their teams' records over the last three seasons; how many of their head coaches are in the Hall of Fame; how many coaches they've had in the past decade; and their stadium capacities, among other things.

SEE ALSO: 20 Jokes to Help with Your Michigan vs. Michigan State Trash Talk

Given that methodology, maybe it's starting to come into focus as to why Michigan State didn't perform so well - only coming in at #4 in Michigan and #113 nationally.

Michigan's Top Towns for College Football

So which Michigan college towns rated ahead of East Lansing and MSU?

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Ypsilanti - home of Eastern Michigan University - came in at #47 nationally, good enough for third place in the state of Michigan.

Just ahead of EMU at #46 nationally is Central Michigan University. Mt. Pleasant ranks second in Michigan among the best cities for football fans.

But the top city in Michigan for college football fans? No surprise.

That honor goes to Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. The city even ranks as the 10th-best in the nation for college football fans.

Curious what cities did even better than that? Check out the full list here.