THE OFFICIAL HOME OF McNEESE ATHLETICS

Matt Fontenot, a McNeese graduate and former baseball letterman, has quickly become one of the key architects behind the rise of McNeese Athletics. Since joining the department in 2023 as Senior Associate AD for External Affairs and Development, he has advanced to Deputy AD for External Affairs and, in 2026, added Executive Director of the McNeese Athletic Foundation (MAF) to his leadership responsibilities.
 
Fontenot now drives the Athletic Foundation’s fundraising strategy, corporate partnerships, and donor engagement, continuing the record-breaking support for McNeese Athletics seen over the last six years.
 
Across the department, the areas Fontenot oversees have experienced significant growth. Ticket sales are up across all sports, the Townsley Law Arena has hosted multiple sellouts, and the new football press box suites, opened last season, sold out in their inaugural year.
 
Fontenot has also led a wave of facility enhancements totaling $42.3 million that elevate fan experience, strengthens student-athlete resources, and modernizes daily operations. His completed and ongoing projects include a twenty-six-suit football press box, creative media suite with office space and a photography studio, a broadcast cabling infrastructure across multiple sports, a football locker room renovation, the Townsley Law Arena jumbotron, current baseball clubhouse upgrades, Navarre Player Development rehab project, stadium lighting upgrades, and, on the horizon, a new baseball clubhouse and development center.
 
He also serves as sport administrator for football and baseball and acts as the department’s liaison to the McNeese Car Program, Sodexo Catering, and campus housing.
 
Before returning to McNeese, Fontenot spent four years at St. Louis Catholic High School as Director of Advancement and External Operations and Head Baseball Coach. He played a pivotal role in the school’s post-Hurricane Laura recovery, securing $3.2 million in FEMA funding and leading an 18-day rebuild effort that allowed classes to resume on a temporary campus. He also helped launch a $75 million master facility plan.
 
As head baseball coach, he guided the Saints to three straight district titles, the 2021 Louisiana Division II State Championship, and back-to-back semifinal runs. He earned District Coach of the Year honors three times and was named Louisiana 3A Coach of the Year in 2021.
 
Before returning to Lake Charles, Fontenot spent five seasons with Texas A&M Football under then head coach Kevin Sumlin. He began with Texas A&M in 2013 as a recruiting and operations intern while earning a Master’s of Science in Sport Management degree from A&M. Upon graduation, Fontenot was promoted to Assistant Director of Operations for the Texas A&M Football program where he was responsible for daily distribution of player and staff schedules, roster maintenance, aiding in NFL scouts visits, and assisting in team travel and bowl week scheduling and coordination, among other duties. Before the 2016 season, he was again promoted to the Director of Football Operations role. In this role, Fontenot oversaw the day-to-day operations of the football program, academic progress, coordinated team travel, roster and scholarship management, as well as serving as the program’s liaison to the NFL. He also oversaw the team’s travel, logistics, and activities for the postseason. He coordinated team charity and community service projects and aided in football-specific fundraising initiatives, planning and executing donor events throughout the year.
 
Prior to his time at Texas A&M Football, Fontenot worked with the AT&T Cotton Bowl operations and marketing staff for the 2012 season, which featured Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Among his duties were creating marketing initiatives to increase game awareness throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and providing sponsorship fulfillment for game sponsors: AT&T, Dr Pepper, and Samsung.
 
He also served two stints with the Texas Twelve Baseball Academy in College Station, Texas, once as a coach and another as the Director of Operations of the College Station branch from 2018-2019.

A 2009 McNeese graduate, Fontenot was a standout middle infielder for the Cowboys Baseball Program, finishing his career with a .301 average and multiple Southland Conference honors.
 
Matt and his wife, Mallory, have one son, Beckett.