Pick the wrong section at Kyle Field for a day game and you will feel it for three hours. The field runs diagonally, about 141 degrees off north, the shade collects on the southwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Texas A&M 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 141 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the southwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 54% of a 3:30 game in shade against 11% for the northeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (141 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 0% | 55% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 52% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 18% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 4% | 88% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 31% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 15% | 98% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 32% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 29% | 100% |
A 100% cell means that area never sees direct sun that game. The 7:00 column climbs everywhere because the sun sets mid-game.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 55% | about 2 hours in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 55% | about 2 hours in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 52% | about 2 hours in |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 32% | about 3 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 96% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 90% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 57 degrees high and nearly every open seat lit. You cannot buy full shade at noon here, only a head start: southwest sideline, lower rows gain it soonest.
At a 3:30 kickoff the sun stands about 50 degrees up in the southwest. Minute by minute, this is what the model shows: shade climbs the southwest sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about 2 hours in, the upper deck about 2 hours in. The common assumption, top rows first, is wrong in this bowl. Because the stands rise at close to the sun's afternoon angle, the shadow starts at the rail and works its way up, and the highest rows are the last to cool off. Even the northeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 4 hours in.
At a 7:00 kickoff the sun starts about 7 degrees up and disappears before halftime, so every area heads to 100% in the night column. When the schedule offers a night game, that is the shade play, not a seat trick.
Shift the same 3:30 game to late October and the numbers move on their own: about 85% shade on the southwest sideline instead of 54%, with the kickoff sun 14 degrees lower (36 vs 50). November crowds rarely need this page at all.
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The percentages above are computed, not eyeballed: a 3D model of this bowl is ray-traced against the sun's true position for each date and kickoff shown, using the same engine as the live map. It approximates the stands as a tiered ring and ignores overhangs and press boxes, so trust it for which areas shade first rather than for any single row. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the SEC: