Since 2008, Jarrett Singer and Al Botta have been on a rather unorthodox quest: to watch a college football game in every Division I-A football stadium in the country. They’ve started the website CollegeFootballQuest.com to keep fans updated on their progress, and on October 21st and 22nd they’ll be coming to Louisville and Bowling Green for a doubleheader weekend, to watch the Cardinals take on the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers and the Hilltoppers take on Louisiana-Lafayette’s Rajin’ Cajuns.

Though their quest didn’t officially get underway until a few years ago, Singer says the seed of the idea was planted even earlier, in his senior year at the University of Florida when he enrolled in a course called Coaching Football. “It was not the easy ‘A’ that it sounds like,” Singer says. “You had to do a lot of work building a playbook and scouting an opponent. I learned a lot and now my ideal seat in the stadium is the first row of the upper deck in the middle of the end-zone, where I can better see critical plays develop.”

Since then, they’ve had an opportunity to see a lot of those critical plays develop. They’ve just returned from an RV road trip to Happy Valley where they watched the Nittany Lions take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. And in the first year of their quest, at a game in DeKalb, Illinois, between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Northern Illinois Huskies, Singer and Botta watched from their perch as Northern Illinois battled back from a twenty-four point deficit to force overtime, only to throw an interception and lose. “Exciting games like that keep us on the Quest,” Botta says.

The local food doesn’t hurt, either. In each city, Singer and Botta seek out the eateries that students, alumni and fans flock to, especially those that give their diners food challenges. “The competitive spirit takes over,” Singer says to explain the weight they inevitably pick up on game weekends. When it comes to the best local restaurant they’ve found, though, there isn’t any competition. Both agree that Cagle Steaks in Lubbock, Texas, stands head and shoulders above the rest so far, but they’ve heard Hilligan’s in Bowling Green is a place not to be missed.  

The Quest has given them an opportunity see a lot of things about America’s college towns they might have otherwise missed. They cite touring West Point, being in Austin, Texas, on game day, and tailgating with Hawkeye fans in Iowa City as just some of the highlights of their journey thus far. Whether it’s the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green or just walking around campus in Louisville and hoping for a Rick Pitino sighting, Botta and Singer are certain their time in Kentucky will add to the memories and miles. 

Doubleheader weekends like their trip to Kentucky help them balance their quest with family commitments. And what do their families think of the Quest? Botta doesn’t hesitate. “My wife is very, very supportive. She thinks I’m crazy, but she’s supportive,” he says. “She’s probably right,” Singer chimes in, laughing.