Three hours on the wrong side of Huskie Stadium in September is a bake. The field runs diagonally, about 35 degrees off north, the shade collects on the northwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Northern Illinois kickoff every area spends in shade, ray-traced for this exact bowl.
Pick your game and kickoff. Watch the shade move across the bowl through the game.
The field runs diagonally, about 35 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the northwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 57% of a 3:30 game in shade against 23% for the southeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (35 degrees), latitude and kickoff time, by the same engine as the live map.
Share of a full game spent in shade, by area, for a mid-September Saturday:
| Seats | Noon | 3:30 | 7:00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 31% | 100% |
| Southeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 14% | 99% |
| Northwest sideline, lower rows | 0% | 58% | 100% |
| Northwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 56% | 100% |
| Northeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 42% | 100% |
| Northeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 28% | 100% |
| Southwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 55% | 100% |
| Southwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 53% | 100% |
Read 100% as shaded from kickoff to final whistle. Every area drifts toward 100% for evening games as the sun drops.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest sideline, lower rows | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| Northwest sideline, mid level | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| Northwest sideline, upper deck | 56% | about 2 hours in |
| Southwest end zone, lower rows | 55% | about 2 hours in |
Southeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 86% of a 3:30 game, and Southeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 77% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 50 degrees high and nearly every open seat lit. You cannot buy full shade at noon here, only a head start: northwest sideline, lower rows gain it soonest.
At a 3:30 kickoff the sun stands about 38 degrees up in the southwest. Minute by minute, this is what the model shows: shade climbs the northwest sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about an hour and a half in, the upper deck about 2 hours in. Most fans guess the upper deck shades first. Here it is backwards: the rake of the stands roughly matches the afternoon sun angle, so shadow pools at the front rows first and then climbs the bowl one row at a time. Even the southeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 3.5 hours in.
Night games solve the problem for you: at a 7:00 kickoff the sun is already down to about 1 degrees and sets during the first half, so the whole bowl converges on 100% shade. Nobody needs this page for a night kickoff.
Date matters as much as section. Take the same 3:30 kickoff in late October and the northwest sideline climbs from about 57% shade to about 72%, purely because the kickoff sun drops from 38 to 23 degrees. Every area benefits late in the season.
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Every number here is produced by a 3D ray-traced model of this seating bowl plus the exact solar position for the dates and kickoffs shown, the same engine behind the live map. The model approximates the bowl as a continuous tiered ring, without overhangs, press boxes or section canopies, so read the percentages as a dependable ranking of which areas shade first, not a row-level guarantee. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the Mountain West: