Tonight is Military Appreciation Night at Cowboy Stadium as McNeese kicks off its home football season against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for service members who show a military ID. The first 500 McNeese students will get a commemorative McNeese camouflage hat.

A special flyover by three Black Hawk helicopters will coincide with the band playing the national anthem.

Specialized military vehicles and tents with giveaways will be around the Doland Field House for visitors to see. Representatives from the military branches will be honorary captains for the coin toss, and military personnel will line the tunnel when the Cowboys run onto the field.

The Cowboy Corral will host a family tailgate party for each home game starting three hours before kickoff. It will include food vendors, a kid’s fun zone and live bands. The Cowboy Corral is in Lot A near the Stream Alumni Center.

Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band will be the featured entertainment for the Sept. 7 home opener.

Cowboy Corral will be set up at noon Friday and will be blocked off for the three back-to-back home games.

The ticket office is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 10 a.m. until the end of halftime on game days. The only areas of the field house that will be open to the public are the lobby and inside ticket area for “will call” tickets. Walk-up tickets will be sold at the outside windows.

All tickets will be scanned at the gates. Scanners will only accept valid game tickets. Students must have a student ID card and a game ticket to enter the stadium.

Cowboy Club members will be allowed to exit and re-enter at the club gate with a ticket and Cowboy Club ID card.

Parking lots near Cowboy Stadium will be closed beginning at 7 a.m. each home-game Saturday. Only vehicles with game-day parking or tailgate passes will be allowed to park near the stadium.

Drivers needing to drop off passengers at the Doland Field House should enter and exit from Common Street on Les Devall Boulevard.

Lot A parking passes are still available and can be purchased the day of the game.

Streets around Cowboy Stadium and the field house will be blocked beginning at 7 a.m. each home-game Saturday.

The stadium will open at 6 p.m. Sept. 7 due to the 7:30 p.m. start.

Alcohol, umbrellas, backpacks and bags larger than 10 by 14 by 12 inches will not be allowed in the stadium.

Smoking is not permitted in the seating area of the stadium and is allowed in designated smoking areas only.

The only free parking near the stadium is in Lot E on the east side of the stadium behind McNeese student parking and the student tailgate area. The entrance is off Louisiana Avenue.

The Cowgirl Kicker Cuties will perform during pregame festivities, and this year’s Hall of Fame members and McNeese’s 2013 Southland Conference regular season championship softball team will be recognized at halftime.

For more information, consult the “A to Z Guide to Game Day” at www.mcneesesports.com.

McNeese football parking map by American Press

(American Press Archives)

Brad Puckett