McNeese State Cowboys football
| McNeese State Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1940 | ||
| Athletic director | Bruce Hemphill | ||
| Head coach |
Lance Guidry 3rd season, 19–8 (.704) | ||
| Stadium |
Cowboy Stadium (Capacity: 17,410) | ||
| Field surface | Artificial turf | ||
| Location | Lake Charles, Louisiana | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Southland Conference | ||
| All-time record | 431–252–13 (.629) | ||
| Bowl record | 3–3 (.500) | ||
| Playoff record | 11–14 | ||
| Claimed nat'l titles | 2 | ||
| Conference titles | 14 | ||
| Rivalries |
Central Arkansas Lamar Northwestern State | ||
| Colors |
Royal Blue and Gold[1] | ||
| Website | McNeeseSports.com | ||
- For information on all McNeese State University sports, see McNeese State Cowboys and Cowgirls
The McNeese State 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 State'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. The Cowboys are coached by Lance Guidry.
History
On August 31, 2013, McNeese State opened their season at South Florida by defeating the Bulls 53-21. It was the largest point total by a Football Championship Subdivision team over a Football Bowl Subdivision team in a victory since the NCAA split Division I football into two divisions in 1978. The 32 point difference was also the greatest margin of victory by a FCS team over a FBS team.
Championships
Southland Conference champions
- 1976, 1979, 1980, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015[2]
Bowl history
The Cowboys have participated in six bowl games, the first three being College Division bowl games and the last three being against Division I-AA teams. They also participated in the Cajun Bowl against the Southern Arkansas Muleriders in 1947, which ended in a scoreless tie.[3]
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Cosmopolitan Bowl | Louisiana College | W 13–6 | ||
| 1962 | Golden Isles Bowl | Samford | 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 | ||
| Total | 6 Bowl Games | 3–3 | |||
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.
| Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | McNeese wins | McNeese losses | Ties | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | September 17, 1994 (won 21–7) | October 15, 2016 (lost 0–35) | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 |
Lamar Cardinals
The two teams have met 34 times on the football field, with McNeese State currently holding a 24-9-1 agreement with the two universities and Verizon Wireless.[4]
| Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | McNeese wins | McNeese losses | Ties | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | November 10, 1951 (won 13–7) | November 19, 2016 (won 41–10) | 25 | 9 | 1 | .729 |
Inactive rivalry
Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
The Cajun Crown was the name of the rivalry trophy between USL and McNeese State.[5]
| Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | McNeese State wins | McNeese State losses | Ties | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | September 22, 1951 (lost 14–35) | September 10, 2016 (lost 22–30) | 20 | 16 | 2 | .553 |
Notable former players
Notable alumni include:
- NFL
- Don Breaux - Denver (1963) and San Diego ('64-'65); also coordinated Washington Redskins (1981-89, 1990-93, 2004-07) and various teams
- Tom Sestak - AFL Buffalo Bills (1962-68)
- Leonard Smith - St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1983-1988), Buffalo Bills (1988-1991) (College Football Hall of Famer)
- Stephen Starring - New England Patriots (1983-87), Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988)
- Buford Jordan - New Orleans/Portland Breakers (1984-85) USFL, New Orleans Saints (1986-1992)
- Kavika Pittman - Dallas Cowboys (1996-99), Denver (2000-02), Carolina (2003)
- Zach Bronson - San Francisco 49ers (1997-2003); St. Louis (2004)
- Kerry Joseph - Seattle Seahawks (1999-2002)
- Keith Ortego - Chicago Bears (1985-87)
- Flip Johnson - Buffalo Bills (1988-89)
- Bryan Hicks - Cincinnati Bengals (1980-82)
- Luke Lawton - various teams (2005-2010)
- B. J. Sams - Baltimore Ravens (2004-07); Kansas City Chiefs (2008)
- Vincent Landrum - Barcelona Dragons (1997) WLAF/NFL Europe World Bowl Champion
- Jonathan Mitchell - Birmingham Stallions USFL
- CFL
- Kerry Joseph - Ottawa Renegades (2003-05), Saskatchewan Roughriders (2006-07, 2014), Toronto Argonauts (2008-09), Edmonton Eskimos (2010-13)
- Diontae Spencer - Toronto Argonauts (2015-2016), Ottawa Redblacks (2017 - )
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of October 8, 2018.[6]
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| vs Southern | at Louisiana–Lafayette | vs West Florida |
| at Oklahoma State | vs Northern Colorado | at LSU |
| vs Alcorn State | ||
See also
References
- ↑ "McNeese State Athletics Style Guide". Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ↑ http://wilson.engr.wisc.edu/rsfc/champs/Southland.txt
- ↑ "McNeese State Historical Data". www.cfbdatawarehouse.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ↑ "Verizon Wireless Announces Lamar-McNeese State Rivalry Series - LAMARCARDINALS.COM - Lamar Cardinals Official Athletic Site". lamarcardinals.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24.
- ↑ "College Football Rivalries". www.1122productions.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ↑ "McNeese State Cowboys Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2018-10-08.