McNeese Cowboys football

The McNeese Cowboys football program is the intercollegiate American football team for McNeese State University located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Southland Conference. McNeese's first football team was fielded in 1940. The team plays its home games at the 17,410 seat Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

McNeese Cowboys football
2025 McNeese Cowboys football team
First season	1940; 85 years ago (1940)
Athletic director	Heath Schroyer
Head coach	Matt Viator 11th season, 78–33 (.703)
Stadium	Cowboy Stadium (capacity: 17,610)
Field surface	Artificial turf
Location	Lake Charles, Louisiana
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Southland Conference
All-time record	482–304–13 (.611)
Bowl record	3–3–1 (.500)
Playoff record	11–14
Conference titles	14
Rivalries	Central Arkansas (rivalry) Lamar (rivalry) Louisiana (rivalry) Northwestern State (rivalry)
Colors	Royal blue and gold[1]
Fight song	"On Mcneese"
Mascot	Rowdy
Marching band	"The Pride of Mcneese"
Website	McNeeseSports.com

History

On August 31, 2013, McNeese opened their season by defeating the South Florida Bulls, 53–21. It was the largest margin of victory (32 points) by a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly I-AA) team over a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-A) team since the NCAA split Division I football into two divisions in 1978.^[2]

McNeese State football played some of their original games at a stadium now named Lake Charles Boston High School Cougar Stadium.^[3]

The Cowboys (right) line up on offense during a 2024 game against Houston Christian.

Championships

Southland Conference champions

• 1976, 1979, 1980, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015^[4]

Division I-AA championship games

• 1997, L 9–10 to Youngstown State
• 2002, L 14–34 to Western Kentucky

Bowl games

The Cowboys have participated in seven bowl games.^[5]

Season	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1947	Cajun Bowl	Southern Arkansas	T 0–0
1951	Cosmopolitan Bowl	Louisiana College	W 13–6
1962	Golden Isles Bowl	Howard (AL)	W 21–14
1971	Grantland Rice Bowl	Tennessee State	L 23–26
1976	Independence Bowl	Tulsa	W 20–16
1979	Independence Bowl	Syracuse	L 7–31
1980	Independence Bowl	Southern Miss	L 14–16

Rivalries

Central Arkansas

Main article: Red Beans and Rice Bowl

The two teams have met 13 times on the football field with Central Arkansas leading the series 7–6–0. Due to conference scheduling requirements, the most recent game was played in 2019.

McNeese State–Central Arkansas: All-Time Record

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	McNeese wins	McNeese losses	Ties	Win %
13	September 17, 1994 (won 21–7)	October 12, 2019 (lost 31–40)	7	6	0	.538

Lamar

Main article: Battle of the Border (Lamar–McNeese State)

The two teams have met 40 times on the football field, with McNeese State holding a 28-11-1 agreement with the two universities and Verizon Wireless.^[6]

McNeese State–Lamar: All-Time Record

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	McNeese wins	McNeese losses	Ties	Win %
40	November 10, 1951 (won 13–7)	November 19, 2022 (won 24-20)	28	11	1	.713

Louisiana

Main article: Cajun Crown

The Cajun Crown was the name of the rivalry trophy between Louisiana and McNeese State.^[7]

Louisiana–McNeese State: All-Time Record

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	McNeese State wins	McNeese State losses	Ties	Win %
38	September 22, 1951 (lost 14–35)	September 10, 2016 (lost 22–30)	20	16	2	.553

Northwestern State

Main article: McNeese State–Northwestern State football rivalry

McNeese State leads the series with Northwestern State 48–23–1 through the 2021 season.

McNeese State–Northwestern State: All-Time Record

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	McNeese State wins	McNeese State losses	Ties	Win %
72	October 6, 1951 (won 38–21)	November 20, 2021 (lost 20–24)	48	23	1	.674

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

NFL

• Don Breaux - Denver (1963) and San Diego ('64-'65); also coordinated Washington Redskins (1981–1989, 1990–1993, 2004–2007) and various teams
• Tom Sestak - AFL Buffalo Bills (1962–1968)
• Leonard Smith - St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1983-1988), Buffalo Bills (1988–1991) (College Football Hall of Famer)
• Stephen Starring - New England Patriots (1983–1987), Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988)
• Buford Jordan - New Orleans/Portland Breakers (1984–1985) USFL, New Orleans Saints (1986–1992)
• Kavika Pittman - Dallas Cowboys (1996–99), Denver (2000–2002), Carolina (2003)
• Zach Bronson - San Francisco 49ers (1997–2003); St. Louis (2004)
• Kerry Joseph - Seattle Seahawks (1999–2002)
• Keith Ortego - Chicago Bears (1985–1987)
• Flip Johnson - Buffalo Bills (1988–1989)
• Bryan Hicks - Cincinnati Bengals (1980–1982)
• Jimmy Redmond – various teams (2001–2006)
• Luke Lawton - various teams (2005–2010)
• B. J. Sams - Baltimore Ravens (2004–2007); Kansas City Chiefs (2008)
• B. J. Blunt - Washington Redskins (2019)
• Diontae Spencer - St. Louis Rams (2014), Pittsburgh Steelers (2019), Denver Broncos (2019–2021), New York Jets (2022-2023)
• Adam Henry - Assistant coach: Oakland Raiders (2007-11), San Francisco 49ers (2015), New York Giants (2016-2017), Cleveland Browns (2018-2019), Dallas Cowboys (2020-2021), Buffalo Bills (2023-present)

CFL

• Kerry Joseph - Ottawa Renegades (2003–2005), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2006–2007, 2014), Toronto Argonauts (2008–2009), Edmonton Eskimos (2010–2013)
• Diontae Spencer - Toronto Argonauts (2015–2016), Ottawa Redblacks (2017–2018)

Future non-conference opponents

Announced non-conference opponents as of July 17, 2025.^[8]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
Louisiana Christian	Texas Wesleyan	Louisiana Christian	South Dakota	at LSU
at Louisiana	Tarleton State	at Tarleton State
Weber State	at LSU	at South Dakota
at Utah State

See also

• List of NCAA Division I FCS football programs