An architectural rendering of McNeese's new press box. (Special to the American Press)

McNeese State is reverting to its pre-hurricane start times for its football games.

Before hurricanes Laura and Delta disrupted the athletic department in the fall of 2020, the Cowboys started all home games at 6 p.m.

For two seasons, they were forced to play at noon under the blazing sun while Cowboy Stadium was being renovated and a new lighting system was installed. Then, for two seasons, they played at 7 p.m.

Now, with a new press box set to open and six home games scheduled for this season, McNeese is moving its games back to a 6 p.m. kickoff.

“After a lot of thought and discussion with a number of people that included season ticket holders, staff, campus employees, students and community members, it was the consensus that a 6 o’clock kick-off will allow our fans with children as well as those coming to games from the surrounding parishes, to get home at a reasonable time, and those tailgating will still be able to enjoy a full day of pregame gathering, one that will start the night before at our Friday Night Block Parties,” said Director of Athletics Heath Schroyer.

Starting times for football have been a big talk in the league of late with many schools pushing for afternoon games. Some of that is for travel purposes.

With the addition of Texas-Rio Grande Valley playing football this fall, the travel distance for teams has greatly increased. Some in the league wanted day games so players would get home earlier after long bus trips.

There was even a push for the entire league to have start times no later than 4 p.m. Schroyer said at the time that McNeese would never go for that, stating that Saturday night games were a part of the football program’s long history. 

The 6 p.m. start time will mean that fans on the east side of the stadium will have to deal with the sun more, especially early in the season. However, it also provides a different window in the ESPN+ schedule if most of the conference games are scheduled for the afternoon.

McNeese will open its season on August 30 with a home game against Louisiana Christian, marking the return of Matt Viator as head coach. Viator is currently tied for most wins as a McNeese head coach after 10 seasons leading the Cowboys.

He returns after nine seasons away from the program in hopes of turning the Cowboys around. They have not had a winning season since 2019, before the hurricanes. 

McNeese managed to achieve a 6-6 record last year, the second-largest turnaround in NCAA Division I football, behind only Indiana after a disastrous 0-11 season in 2023, the worst in school history.

When the Cowboys open play, they will also unveil their new press box and suites, which replace the old one destroyed by Laura. In addition to the opener, McNeese will host Weber State on September 13, Southeastern on October 4, HCU for Homecoming on October 18, Northwestern State on November 1, and UTRGV on November 15.

The Cowboys will not play Incarnate Word this season. 

McNeese players will be checking in for summer workouts and school starting this weekend, before practices begin next week.