McNeese announces 2023 football schedule

LAKE CHARLES – A season opening home game against WAC member Tarleton State and a visit to the SEC’s Florida Gators help highlight the 2023 McNeese Cowboy football schedule which was announced on Monday.

The 11-game slate will feature five home games while all 11 contests are against Division I opponents.

After the opener against Tarleton State on September 2, McNeese will play the next three away from Cowboy Stadium beginning with its first-ever trip to The Swamp on Sept. 9. The Cowboys will then travel to Alcorn State (Sept. 16) and Eastern Illinois (Sept. 23) before returning home to begin Southland Conference play against Nicholls (Sept. 30).

McNeese will follow with a trip to Texas A&M-Commerce on Oct. 7 before an open date. Following the bye week, the Cowboys will have back-to-back home games against UIW (Oct. 21) and Northwestern State (Oct. 28) for homecoming. A November 4 trip to Southeastern will precede the home finale versus on HCU on Nov. 11. The regular season will conclude on Nov. 18 at Lamar.

McNeese and Tarleton will be meeting for the second time in the last four seasons. The Cowboys rallied for a dramatic fourth quarter win over the Texans to open up the 2021 spring season.

McNeese will play Florida for the first-time ever. The Gators are just the second sitting SEC team the Cowboys have played along with LSU. The Cowboys have played Texas A&M (2001) and Missouri (2010) but those programs were not in the SEC at the time.

The Cowboys and Braves will meet up for the second straight year and sixth overall. Alcorn escaped Lake Charles last fall with a 30-19 win, its first-ever over McNeese while the game at Eastern Illinois will mark the fourth time the two have played. The Cowboys defeated the Panthers 29-15 last fall.

Northwestern State is back on the schedule after a one-year hiatus due to schedule rearranging with the addition of Lamar. The Demons will come to Lake Charles for homecoming night on Oct. 28.

Season tickets for the 2023 season will be on sale in the coming months.

2023 McNeese Football Schedule
Sept. 2 Tarleton State
Sept. 9 at Florida
Sept. 16 at Alcorn State
Sept. 23 at Eastern Illinois
Sept. 30 *Nicholls
Oct. 7 *at Texas A&M-Commerce
Oct. 14 BYE
Oct. 21 *UIW
Oct. 28 *Northwestern State (Homecoming)
Nov. 4 *at Southeastern
Nov. 11 *HCU
Nov. 18 *at Lamar