THE OFFICIAL HOME OF McNEESE ATHLETICS

Matt Fontenot, a McNeese graduate and former baseball letterman, joined the McNeese Athletic Department as Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs and Development in July 2023.
 
Fontenot oversees multiple departments within McNeese Athletics that have all witnessed outstanding growth. The ticket office has seen increased ticket sales across all ticketed sports, experienced sell out events at the Legacy Center, and is preparing for the launch of the brand new $32 million football press box featuring 26 high-end suites.
 
Fontenot has elevated multiple athletic facilities in his short time on campus that enhance the fan experience, student-athlete experience and efficiency of day-to-day staff operations. On the facilities horizon is a $1.5 million Navarre Player Development rehab project and a $5 million new baseball clubhouse and development center to go along with the completion of the press box, $1 million football locker room upgrade, Legacy Center jumbotron addition, upgrades to the current baseball clubhouse as well as the development of a digital media studio.  Other departments Fontenot oversees include game operations, marketing and digital media.
 
On the Development side, Fontenot has cultivated new local partnerships alongside the McNeese Athletic Foundation to continue to expand its in-house corporate sponsorships and fundraising events to provide record-setting support for the department. He also serves as the liaison for the department with the McNeese Car Program, Sodexo Catering, campus housing as well as the sport administrator for the football and baseball programs.
 
Fontenot returned to collegiate athletics administration after spending the past four years at St. Louis Catholic High School in multiple capacities, including the Director of Advancement and External Operations and Head Baseball Coach.
 
A Lake Charles native and St. Louis Catholic alum, Fontenot was instrumental in raising funds for the high school's post-Hurricane Laura master facility plan, a future development valued at $75 million to rebuild the completely decimated campus. He led the post-hurricane recovery project that received $3.2 million in FEMA money and lasted an astonishing eighteen days allowing school to resume on a new temporary campus.

As a baseball coach, he helped guide the Saints to three consecutive district titles, the 2021 Louisiana Division II State Championship and state semifinal appearances in 2022 and 2023. Fontenot was named District Coach of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2023 as well as Louisiana 3A Coach of the Year in 2021.
 
Prior to 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 Masters 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. Prior to 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 post season. 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 provided 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 native of Lake Charles, La., Fontenot graduated from McNeese State in 2009. He signed with McNeese State in 2007 out of Bossier Parish Community College. He played middle for the Cowboys producing a .343 batting average as a junior to help McNeese set a school record for team batting average (.316). He earned Southland Conference Player of the Week honors multiple times and finished his career with a .301 average, nine home runs and 56 RBI. A good student, Fontenot was named to the McNeese State and Southland Conference Honor Roll.

Matt and his wife, Mallory, have one son, Beckett.