RECRUITS: check out what McNeese State has to offer

Academics: I'll bet that you didn't know that McNeese annually produces more teachers than any other university in the state. Please check with your high school relations department and ask for brochures and information on McNeese State University. You'll find that the schools of study of the university are: the Arts, Sciences, Engineering/Technology, Nursing, Education, Business and the Graduate School. The College of Business is among only 20% of colleges of business in the United States to be nationally accredited by AACSB. McNeese radiologic technology graduates had a 100 percent passage rate on the 1997 national certification examination administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. The national passing rate was 86 percent. McNeese consistently places near the top in percentage of students accepted to medical schools.

Athletic Facilities: McNeese has new athletic facilities to complement Cowboy Stadium, an 18,000 seat facility built into the ground to maximize the homefield advantage of having the best fans in the Southland Conference! The new pressbox was added to Cowboy Stadium in 1997. The 3.3 million dollar pressbox is known as the Sky Ranch and seats 500 in the Blue and Gold Club Level with skyboxes in the first level, and media facilities in the third level. The new state of the art scoreboard flashes instant replay to Cowboy Fans thru out the stadium.

The Dowell "Doc" Fontenot Sports Medicine Center has been hailed as one of the best university sports medicine facilities in the state. Much of the funding (between $150,000 and $180,000) for construction of the building was raised and donated by the Petrochemical Athletic Association. The new building has tremendously increased the space that McNeese Trainer Doc Murphy has to treat McNeese's athletes compared to the small area used in the McNeese Field House in the past. Here is an interior shot of one of the treatment rooms for athletes.

Tradition: Six conference championships since 1991 - the most of any conference member. Ten trips to the NCAA I-AA playoffs - the most of any SLC member. 2002 national finalist and #1 ranked football team in 2002. 1997 national finalist in Chattanooga, TN. National semi-finalist in 1995 and winningest program in Louisiana in the 1990s. These are just the recent accomplishments of the McNeese State football Cowboys. In the 2002 season, McNeese won their second straight SLC championship, went undefeated thru conference play and advanced to the national championship game in Chattanooga, TN. The SLC continues to be one of the toughest conferences in I-AA.

Support: No one even comes close to McNeese in fan support in the Southland Conference. The Cowboys have led current Southland Conference members in attendance every year since 1991, and might have the best road warriors in all of I-AA. Is your family looking for pregame fun? No one tailgates like the Cowboys. McNeese was voted best tailgate atmosphere by several national magazines. Click here to see more of the tailgate party that happens at every McNeese home game. Bands, food, dancing, entertainment, you name it, it is happening pregame at Cowboy Stadium.

Road Support: Do you like it when fans follow you on the road? Don't even ask , no one in I-AA travels like the Cowboy fans. Over 8,000 traveled to Chattanooga in 2002, 7,000 traveled to Tennessee for the National Finals in 1997, more than 6,000 traveled to SFA in 1995 to help set an all-time SFA record, more than 4,000 fans traveled to Texas A&M last year to help support their Cowboys. Even a hurricane couldn't stop McNeese fans from traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the Huskers. You will quickly learn than when you trot out on enemy turf, that the first sound you hear is the cowbells from the McNeese Cowboy fans. Click here to see the chronicle of McNeese fans this year.

See the USA? Try to find a I-AA program or even some small I-A programs that have traveled the USA like McNeese State. From the shadow of the mountains of Montana, Idaho and Utah to the shores of South Beach, Miami, the Cowboys have seen it all. Just in the past few years, the football players have traveled to Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, Maine, Delaware, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Utah, Nebraska, Kentucky, Tennessee and more. This shot is from the Florida Keys just south of the Everglades, another location that the Cowboys visited recently on their travels.

This is a photo of the pre-game ceremonies from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska where this year, the McNeese Cowboys traveled to play the CornHuskers.

Competition? You will have the opportunity to compete on a level where you have a chance to win almost every game, and the chance to win a national championship on the playing field. Do you want to see how you size up against the very best? McNeese has scheduled a game each year for you. In 2000, the Cowboys played the number two BCS I-A team Miami Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl. Here the Cowboys score against the Miami defense on ESPN+. In 2001 the Cowboys opened in Kyle Field against the Texas A&M Aggies, and lead 16-0 and 24-10 before losing a close game. In 2002, McNeese traveled to Nebraska, and played the Huskers before 77,000 Husker fans. The Cowboys trailed 21-7 in the 4th quarter and earned a standing ovation from CornHusker fans in losing 38-14. Exposure: Playing at McNeese got shots at the pros for Stephan Starring, Leonard Smith, Buford Jordan, Keith Ortego, Seahawks safety Kerry Joseph, Broncos DE Kavika Pittman and others.

Where is McNeese? What better location? Three hours from New Orleans, two hours from Houston on Interstate 10 each way. Less than one hour to the Gulf Beaches, and just a few minutes from perhaps the finest fishing and goose hunting in the South. If you are 21 and over, there is the bright lights of the casinos in Lake Charles. Lake Charles is not a big city, and it is not a small town. It is just the right size for a university (about 90,000). McNeese Football has a winning tradition, and has been on television throughout the South this past decade, and on ESPN during the national championship game. McNeese fans are your fans and there aren't any better people to meet anywhere. Getting your degree, meeting great people, and being able to compete every time you line up in a game. What more could you ask for than McNeese?