Interesting, thank you! And thanks to all for the suggestion to do Indiana instead of Purdue. Either way, I have a long ways to go seeing other college sports venues ... so far, I only have these checked off:
FOOTBALL
Illinois: Obviously love, minus the Horseshoe. And the only reason I am so adamant about fixing the Horseshoe is that MS is so close to being one of the most iconic venues/setups/environments in the ENTIRE sport, especially if we keep getting better and bigger crowds. ALL of the pieces are there.
Iowa: Say what you want about Iowa, but Kinnick Stadium is a true gem. The surrounding setup of mostly neighborhood houses with their own tailgates gives a bit of a Wrigley vibe, and that stadium can get LOUD.
Wisconsin: Honestly pretty overrated, as is their campus. Not trying to be a hater (Madison is objectively cool, and both the stadium/campus were, as well!), but I genuinely do not understand why Camp Randall and Madison get the hype they do.
Vanderbilt: Was mostly just fun because we were visiting my friend in Nashville and got to experience a watered down Southern tailgate with the polos and sun dresses and whatnot, but the stadium is the very definition of "meh."
BASKETBALL
Illinois: Obviously love, and I am actually a huge fan of the renovation, myself. It was about the best we could ever hope for to make the arena objectively "nice" while retaining its uniqueness and charm.
Iowa: Been here even more than Assembly Hall/SFC. Simultaneously a wonderful place to watch a game (literally not one bad seat in the house) and an awful gameday environment overall, lol. It can actually get shockingly loud due to the flat ceiling and the stands being entirely below ground level, but the setup of the student section and general blandness just kill the atmosphere.
Northwestern: The renovations made it "nicer," but it lost pretty much all "fieldhouse appeal," too. The best thing going for it is that it's so small that you feel pretty close to the court no matter what.
Butler: Literally no place like Hinkle, man! As previously stated, my sister went to Butler, so I've been to a couple games here. A mid-day game with the sun streaming in through the windows is so nostalgic. Fun fact, I was actually at
this epic miracle buzzer beater back in 2013. Still one of the coolest sporting events I've ever attended.
I've also walked onto the field/court but not attended any games at both Ryan Field at Northwestern (about what you'd expect, lol...) and Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas (truly awesome). My Big Ten bucket list currently starts with PSU and OSU for football, and MSU and Purdue for hoops.