The McNeese State Cowboys football program is the intercollegiate
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
team for
McNeese State University located in the U.S. state of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
. The team competes in the
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...
. McNeese State's first football team was fielded in 1940. The team plays its home games at the 17,410 seat
Cowboy Stadium
Cowboy Stadium is a 17,610-seat multi-purpose stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is home to the McNeese State Cowboys football team, and is affectionately referred to as "The Hole". It was transformed for the 2008 season to artificial tur ...
in
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...
.
History
On August 31, 2013, McNeese State 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.
Championships
Southland Conference champions
* 1976, 1979, 1980, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015
Division I-AA championship games
*
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, L 9–10 to
Youngstown State
Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges ...
*
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, L 14–34 to
Western Kentucky
Bowl games
The Cowboys have participated in six bowl games, the first three being College Division bowl games and the last three being against Division I-A teams. They also participated in the
Cajun Bowl
The Cajun Bowl was a one-time postseason college football bowl game held in 1947 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The game featured McNeese State and Magnolia A&M (now known as Southern Arkansas). Magnolia A&M entered the game after posting a season ...
against the Southern Arkansas Muleriders in 1947, which ended in a scoreless tie.
Rivalries
Central Arkansas
The two teams have met 9 times on the football field with McNeese State leading the series tied 5–4–0. Due to conference scheduling requirements, the most recent game was played in 2015.
Lamar
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.
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
The
Cajun Crown was the name of the rivalry trophy between
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
and McNeese State.
Northwestern State
Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...
McNeese State leads the series with
Northwestern State
Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...
45–22–1 through the 2018 season.
Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
;NFL
*
Don Breaux
Donald Carl Breaux (born August 3, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at McNeese State College and in the American Football League (AFL). He served two stints as an assistant coach under head coac ...
- 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
Stephen Dale Starring (born July 30, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
After attending Vinton High School, Starring ...
- New England Patriots (1983–1987), Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988)
*
Buford Jordan
Paul Buford Jordan (born June 26, 1962) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints.
Biography
A four-time all-Southland Conference selection, Jordan left McNeese State ...
- New Orleans/Portland Breakers (1984–1985) USFL, New Orleans Saints (1986–1992)
*
Kavika Pittman
Kavika Charles Pittman (born October 9, 1974) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Carolina Panthers. He played college football at McNeese State University.
Ear ...
- 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
Bryant Keith Ortego (August 30, 1963 – March 2, 2022) was an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the NFL. He was a member of the Bears team that won Super Bowl XX following the 1985 NFL season. He was also a member of t ...
- Chicago Bears (1985–1987)
*
Flip Johnson - Buffalo Bills (1988–1989)
*
Bryan Hicks - Cincinnati Bengals (1980–1982)
*
Jimmy Redmond
James Lewis Redmond III (born August 18, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver and special teamer who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also spent time with the Tennessee Titan ...
– various teams (2001–2006)
*
Luke Lawton
Richard Luke Lawton (born August 26, 1980 in New Iberia, Louisiana) is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at McNeese State.
Lawton has also bee ...
- various teams (2005–2010)
*
B. J. Sams - Baltimore Ravens (2004–2007); Kansas City Chiefs (2008)
*
B. J. Blunt -
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
(2019)
*
Diontae Spencer
Diontae Spencer (born March 19, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, he played college football with the McNeese State Cowb ...
- St. Louis Rams (2014), Pittsburgh Steelers (2019) Denver Broncos (2019–Present)
;CFL
*
Kerry Joseph - Ottawa Renegades (2003–2005), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2006–2007, 2014), Toronto Argonauts (2008–2009), Edmonton Eskimos (2010–2013)
*
Diontae Spencer
Diontae Spencer (born March 19, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, he played college football with the McNeese State Cowb ...
- Toronto Argonauts (2015–2016),
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starti ...
(2017–2018)
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of November 28, 2022.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I FCS football programs
References
External links
*
{{Southland Conference football navbox
American football teams established in 1940
1940 establishments in Louisiana