September day games at Mackay Stadium split the crowd into two groups: the shaded and the cooked. 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 Nevada 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 72% of a 3:30 game in shade against 21% 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% | 74% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 69% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 30% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 13% | 97% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 45% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 26% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 47% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 39% | 100% |
100% = shaded for the entire game. Evening kickoffs converge toward 100% everywhere as the sun sets.
| Seats | Game in shade | Reaches half shade |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest sideline, lower rows | 74% | about an hour in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 74% | about an hour in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 69% | about an hour and a half in |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 47% | about 2.5 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 87% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 80% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 52 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 40 degrees up in the southwest. Here is the sequence, computed for this bowl: shade climbs the southwest sideline from the bottom up. The lower rows reach half shade about an hour in, the upper deck about an hour and a half in. That surprises people who assume the top of the stadium shades first. It does not. The stands behind you rise at roughly the same pitch as the afternoon sun, so the front rows drop into shadow first and the shade line walks upward row by row. Even the northeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 3.5 hours in.
By a 7:00 kickoff the sun sits only about 2 degrees above the horizon and is gone during the first half, which is why the night column above reads close to 100% almost everywhere. If shade decides it for your group, a night game beats any seat strategy.
The calendar does half the work. For the identical 3:30 kickoff, the southwest sideline averages about 72% shade in mid-September and about 100% by late October, because the sun stands 14 degrees lower at kickoff (26 instead of 40). Late-season day games are kinder in every section.
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These figures come straight from the engine that runs the live map: a 3D bowl model ray-traced against the actual solar path for the dates and kickoffs listed. Overhangs, press boxes and one-off canopies are not modeled, so use the numbers to rank areas, then confirm the exact row on a seat map. Independent tool; not affiliated with the NCAA or any school.
Same conference, same afternoon sun. Shade guides for the rest of the Mountain West: