CHICAGO, Illinois (October 3, 2018) — College football fans and alumni no longer have to wonder whether to travel for the big homecoming game or not this year. Today budget travel site CheapTickets and Niche, which compiles reviews and statistics on schools, businesses and neighborhoods, released their ranking of the most affordable and least affordable college campuses to visit this fall[1].
CheapTickets calculated average airfare, hotel and car rental rates for 25 top college towns from Niche’s 2019 best college athletics in America list[2]. Niche’s ranking is based on student reviews, athletic department revenue, strength of conference and number of national championships won since 2000. The college town travel list includes more than a dozen colleges currently ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for NCAA College Football.
Tailgate Travel: The Most Affordable Colleges to Visit This Fall
CheapTickets and Niche ranked the top 25 best college athletic programs in America from most affordable to least affordable to travel to based on average airfare, hotel and car rental rates.
Most Affordable to Visit
| Ranking | College | City | State |
| 1 | Duke University | Durham | NC |
| 2 | Auburn University | Auburn | AL |
| 3 | University of Maryland – College Park | College Park | MD |
| 4 | The Ohio State University | Columbus | OH |
| 5 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | NC |
Least Affordable to Visit
| Ranking | College | City | State |
| 20 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge | LA |
| 21 | Penn State | State College | PA |
| 22 | Michigan State University | East Lansing | MI |
| 23 | University of Connecticut | Storrs | CT |
| 24 | Syracuse University | Syracuse | NY |
| 25 | University of Notre Dame | South Bend | IN |
“Millions of travelers will visit a college campus this fall for athletics, leisure or school functions,” said Carey Malloy, brand director for CheapTickets. “CheapTickets is giving them information they can use to save now and manage their budget ahead of the busy holiday travel season. That means students, alumni and fans don’t have to choose between tailgating today and Thanksgiving travel next month with our low-cost hotel options and pricing.”
The travel site also shared which colleges have the cheapest roundtrip airfare, daily hotel rates and car rentals in addition to creating a landing page [link TK] with top-rated hotels under 50 dollars for the top 10 cheapest locales.
Visit your Alma Mater on a College Kid Budget
CheapTickets and Niche ranked the best college athletic programs in America from most affordable to least affordable to travel to this fall.
Cheapest Roundtrip Flights
| College | Nearest Airport | IATA |
| Auburn University | Hartsfield-Jackson International | ATL |
| University of Maryland – College Park | Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall | BWI |
| University of Southern California and University of California – Los Angeles | Los Angeles International Airport | LAX |
| University of Michigan | Detroit Wayne County | DTW |
| University of Miami | Miami International Airport | MIA |
Cheapest Average Daily Hotel Rate
| College | City | State |
| University of Oklahoma | Norman | OK |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville | TN |
| Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge | LA |
| Duke University | Durham | NC |
| University of South Carolina | Columbia | SC |
Cheapest Average Daily Car Rental
| College | City | State |
| University of Miami | Miami | FL |
| Ohio State | Columbus | OH |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University | Raleigh | NC |
| Penn State | State College | PA |
| Auburn University | Auburn | AL |
Niche’s 2019 best college athletic schools ranking was released last month. For more information on Niche’s methodology and their rankings on schools, neighborhoods and workplaces, visit Niche.com. For budget-friendly travel tips and information, visit CheapTickets.com.
About CheapTickets
Since 1986, CheapTickets.com has provided travelers access to its collection of budget-friendly flights, hotels, cruises, vacation packages and event tickets to help travelers get more out of their next vacation. Through the CheapTickets CheapCash rewards program, customers can also earn rewards towards hotel stays when booking select flights through the website or mobile apps. Follow CheapTickets.com on Facebook and Twitter for more cheap travel deals and giveaways.
[1] This report is based on CheapTickets and Orbitz demand data from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
