Tuesday, the Southland Conference finally announced the football schedule for the upcoming season.

McNeese State already knew who it would play when it came to the league portion of its schedule; now, at least, they officially know when.

Overall, the Cowboys, coming off a 6-6 campaign and the re-hiring of legendary head coach Matt Viator, will play six of their 12 games this season at home. That includes the season-opener against Louisiana Christian on Aug. 30, when the school will unveil its new press box and fan suites.

The next three weeks will be followed by nonconference games, the first at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Cowboys will then play at home against Weber State, travel to Utah State, and turn their attention to the conference race.

McNeese will open league play on the road on Sept. 27 when it travels to Nacogdoches, Texas, for the first time since 2019. The Cowboys will take on Stephen F. Austin to open league play for the second straight year. 

McNeese has beaten the Lumberjacks in the last four games, including a 28-24 thriller last year in Lake Charles. The Cowboys will return home to start October on the fourth for a game with Southeastern, who they didn’t play last year.

After an open week, McNeese will host Houston Christian on Oct. 18 before traveling to Nicholls on the 25th. The Cowboys lost to both those clubs on the road last season.

On Nov. 1, McNeese will host Northwestern State for Homecoming before returning to the road the following week to play East Texas A&M. Last year, the Cowboys beat both teams by a combined 66-6 score in back-to-back games.

To close out the home campaign, McNeese will host Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 15. This will be the first meeting between the programs, as UTRGV is in its first football season. The Cowboys will then travel to Lamar for the season finale. 

Last year, the Cardinals won on the game’s final play, 26-24, which prevented McNeese from claiming its first winning season since 2019.

2025 McNeese Football Schedule

Aug. 30 vs Louisiana College
Sept. 6 at Louisiana-Lafayette
Sept. 13 vs Weber State
Sept. 20 at Utah Tech
Sept. 27 at SFA
Oct. 4 vs Southeastern
Oct, 11t BYE
Oct. 18 vs HCU
Oct. 25 at Nicholls
Nov. 1 vs Northwestern State (Homecoming)
Nov. 8 at East Texas A&M
Nov. 22 at Lamar

SLC games in bold