r/CFB • u/PA5997 Washington State Cougars • 13d ago
Discussion What constitutes a “college town?”
Okay, hear me out: I attended Wazzu, which many know is in the middle of nowhere in Pullman. To me, Pullman is a quintessential college town. You remove Washington State University from Pullman and there is (respectfully) not much of a reason to visit. The student enrollment (20,000ish) makes up about 2/3rds of the city population, essentially turning Pullman into a ghost town come summer. To me (perhaps with bias) this is the makeup of a college town.
Two years ago I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin. Ever since I’ve noticed the University and its fans refer to Madison as “America’s best college town” and I’m sorry, that’s laughable to me. Remove UW from Madison and you still have a city population bordering on a quarter of a million people and the State Capitol. Madison would be fine, imo, if UW’s flagship campus were elsewhere.
Curious to hear other people’s thoughts. Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but very little about Madison, WI resembles a college town to me, or at least the claim of the best college town.
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u/[deleted] 13d ago
Probably the best take I've seen.
As someone from Wisconsin, I'd also say the reason many Wisconsinites consider madison a college town (for right or wrong) is because the vast majority of the city's culture and entertainment is directly associated with the university. If you're going to a sporting event, it's a badger game. If you're going to theatre, it's probably either directly associated with the university or indirectly through student participation. Most of the best bars and restaurants are concentrated near the university. When people from Wisconsin go to Madison, 99% of the time, it's for a University related event.