The 5 Largest College Campuses in Texas
by John Egan
April 12, 2017
In a state where “everything’s bigger,” Texas A&M University in College Station has the market cornered on big.
At 5,115 acres, Texas A&M boasts the biggest college campus in Texas. And with a fall 2016 enrollment of more than 66,000, A&M also has more students than any other college or university in Texas. To top that off, A&M’s Kyle Field dominates as the largest college football stadium in Texas and one of the largest in the U.S.
By the comparison, the main campus of Texas A&M’s archrival, the University of Texas at Austin, encompasses a relatively measly 431 acres and has a little over 50,000 students.
Of course, UT never really has had much of a chance to catch up with A&M in terms of land. When it was founded in the 1870s, A&M occupied 2,416 acres. UT’s original size? Just 40 acres.
Things are much more tame in College Station today than they were in the early days of A&M. The initial 2,414-acre university site was described as a “wild, bleak prairie, barren of trees and shrubs ... except for one small mesquite tree.”
“Wolves were abundant: One early student was attacked by wolves during the day in full sight of the main building. Another was attacked at night when he fell off a porch,” according to the Texas State Historical Association.
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Since then, the wolves have been kept at bay, and the campus has more than doubled in size. But with more than 60,000 students on campus, plus thousands more professors and employees, A&M is experiencing a space squeeze.
“During lunchtime, the dining halls are overcrowded, forcing some students to eat on the floor. And the influx of students has created transportation problems. Students have reported cramped buses ... and parking has become harder to find,” the Texas Tribune reported in 2016.
So, does this mean that bigger isn’t always better?
The 5 Largest College Campuses in Texas
As you ponder that hypothetical question, take a look at our list of the five largest college campuses in Texas based on acreage.
1. Texas A&M University
Location: College Station
Acres: 5,115
Enrollment: 60,435 (fall 2016 - College Station campus only)
2. Texas Tech University
Location: Lubbock
Acres: 1,839
Enrollment: 36,225 (fall 2016)
3. Prairie View A&M University
Location: Prairie View
Acres: 1,502
Enrollment: 8,762 (fall 2016)
4. Baylor University
Location: Waco
Acres: 1,000
Enrollment: 16,959 (fall 2016)
5. University of North Texas
Location: Denton
Acres: 875
Enrollment: 37,979 (fall 2016)
Data and Photo Sources
http://www.txhighereddata.org/ http://www.collegegridirons.com/sec/KyleField.htm https://dars.tamu.edu/Data-and-Reports/Student/files/EPFA16.aspx https://www.utexas.edu/about/facts-and-figures http://www.tamu.edu/about/history.html https://admissions.utexas.edu/explore/forty-acres http://texasalmanac.com/topics/education/beginnings-university-texas-and-texas-am-university https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/08/now-more-66000-students-texas-m-getting-crowded/ http://universityarchitect.tamu.edu/campus-evolution/ http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/newsletter/stories/07June/tech-trivia-book.php https://www.depts.ttu.edu/vpr/ors/downloads/preaward/Proposal-Boilerplate.pdf http://assets.system.tamus.edu/files/communications/publications/Facts2012.pdf http://www.pvamu.edu/ir/wp-content/uploads/sites/98/Enrollment-Statistics_FA16.pdf http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=88791 https://allabout.unt.edu/ http://catalog.unt.edu/content.php?catoid=3&navoid=100 http://cbe.tamu.edu https://www.theodysseyonline.com/12-things-texas-m-take-breath-away https://www.depts.ttu.edu/parentrelations/ https://www.thoughtco.com/prairie-view-a-and-m-university-admissions-787884 http://blogs.baylor.edu/matthew_crites/baylor-university/ http://blogs.library.unt.edu/unt125/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/06/HurleyLights_02.jpg
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