September day games at Yulman Stadium split the crowd into two groups: the shaded and the cooked. The field runs diagonally, about 31 degrees off north, the shade collects on the northwest sideline, and below is how much of a noon, 3:30 or night Tulane 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 31 degrees off north, so the afternoon sun crosses the bowl broadside. The stands on the northwest side block it first: that sideline averages about 56% of a 3:30 game in shade against 21% for the southeast side. Every number here is ray-traced for this exact orientation (31 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% | 30% | 100% |
| Southeast sideline, upper deck | 0% | 14% | 99% |
| Northwest sideline, lower rows | 0% | 58% | 100% |
| Northwest sideline, upper deck | 0% | 55% | 100% |
| Northeast end zone, lower rows | 0% | 40% | 100% |
| Northeast end zone, upper deck | 0% | 27% | 100% |
| Southwest end zone, lower rows | 0% | 43% | 100% |
| Southwest 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest sideline, lower rows | 58% | about an hour and a half in |
| Northwest sideline, mid level | 56% | about 2 hours in |
| Northwest sideline, upper deck | 55% | about 2 hours in |
| Southwest end zone, lower rows | 43% | about 2.5 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 80% of a 3:30 game. Noon kickoffs start with the sun about 61 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 45 degrees up in the southwest. Here is the sequence, computed for this bowl: 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. 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 southeast sideline, upper deck eventually get there, but not until about 3.5 hours in.
By a 7:00 kickoff the sun sits only about 1 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 northwest sideline averages about 56% shade in mid-September and about 67% by late October, because the sun stands 13 degrees lower at kickoff (32 instead of 45). 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 American: