Pick the wrong section at Neyland Stadium for a day game and you will feel it for three hours. The field runs diagonally, about 147 degrees off north, the shade collects on the southwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Tennessee 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 147 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the southwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 56% of a 3:30 game in shade against 7% for the northeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (147 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% | 58% | 100% |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 53% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, lower rows | 0% | 15% | 100% |
| Northeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 0% | 83% |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 31% | 100% |
| Southeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 12% | 96% |
| Northwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 30% | 100% |
| Northwest end zone, upper deck | 0% | 21% | 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 | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| Southwest sideline, mid level | 56% | about 2 hours in |
| Southwest sideline, upper deck | 53% | about 2 hours in |
| Southeast end zone, lower rows | 31% | about 3 hours in |
Northeast sideline, upper deck sit in sun for 100% of a 3:30 game, and Northeast sideline, mid level sit in sun for 94% 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 48 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 an hour and a half 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. The northeast sideline, upper deck never reach half shade before the final whistle.
By a 7:00 kickoff the sun sits only about 9 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 56% shade in mid-September and about 88% by late October, because the sun stands 15 degrees lower at kickoff (33 instead of 48). Late-season day games are kinder in every section.
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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: