North Alabama Lions
Encyclopedia
The North Alabama Lions are the athletic teams of the University of North Alabama
, located in Florence
, Alabama
. The Lions are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division II and compete within the Gulf South Conference
(GSC). The university has a total of 12 varsity sports teams, six men's teams and six women's teams. They have earned numerous national titles competing in NCAA Division II's Gulf South Conference
. UNA is currently exploring a move from Division II to Division I. The Ohio Valley Conference
has been provided statistical information about UNA's athletic programs. Including: Sports, scholarships, attendance, history and number of student athletes.
The UNA Athletic Department sponsors the following sports:
Men's athletic teams
Women's athletic teams
Based on a history compiled by RoarLions.com, the university’s official athletic Web site, football had an especially inauspicious beginning at Florence Normal School. The institution’s first football game in 1912 ended with Florence losing to Sewanee 100-1. The institution carried on with a football program for 16 years despite similar poor results, finally terminating the program in 1928 after losing to twice to Marion Institute, 86-0 and 85-0.
However, following the resumption of football in 1949 by then-President E.B. Norton, the situation has greatly improved.
The most successful era in UNA football history occurred during Bobby Wallace's
tenure as head football coach. Following a four-year rebuilding period after Wallace's arrival, the Lions compiled a 7-4-1 record in 1992 and lost in the second round of the Division II playoffs to Jacksonville State University, the eventual Division II national champion.
Over the next three years, UNA amassed a 41-1 record, which also encompassed three Gulf South Conference Championships and three consecutive NCAA Division II National Champions — the first so-called three-peat in NCAA history.
Mark Hudspeth amassed a 54-19 record since taking over the UNA head coaching job in 2002. Over the past 5 years, the Lions have had the winningest record out of any college football programs in the state, going 50-12. Hudspeth has led the Lions to at least a top-six finish four times in the last five years. He has been named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year twice.
On January 1, 2009, former Auburn
football coach Terry Bowden
was introduced as head coach. He replaces Mark Hudspeth, who left to join Mississippi State University
as an assistant coach. Bowden brings a 111-53-2 record to the school in addition to a long list of accomplishments that includes being named the 1993 National Coach of the Year, which stemmed from his first season as head coach in Division IA at Auburn University
. He led his squad to an undefeated season in (1993).
Under Coach Bill L. Jones’ leadership, the Lions won three Gulf South Conference
championships in 1977, 1981, and 1984 and three GSC Tournament Titles in 1981, 1984 and 1988. Jones led UNA to NCAA Tournaments in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1988, with his teams winning regional crowns in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984.
Coach Gary Elliott led the Lions to their second national championship in 1991, as well as to four NCAA appearances in 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996.
Bobby Champagne, UNA’s sixth head basketball coach, has led the Lions to three straight Gulf South Conference tournament appearances and to the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 1996.
and regional titles and one Division II national championship, earned in 2003.
For the Lion's volleyball team, 2003 was a year marked with irony. While the team failed to win a GSC title for the first time in eight years, it excelled in the NCAA South Central Regional, Elite Eight and Final Four to secure the first national championship ever claimed by a UNA women’s athletic team.
University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is a coeducational university located in Florence, Alabama, and the state's oldest four-year public university....
, located in Florence
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. The Lions are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division II and compete within the Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
(GSC). The university has a total of 12 varsity sports teams, six men's teams and six women's teams. They have earned numerous national titles competing in NCAA Division II's Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
. UNA is currently exploring a move from Division II to Division I. The Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
has been provided statistical information about UNA's athletic programs. Including: Sports, scholarships, attendance, history and number of student athletes.
Sports
Men's athletic teams
- BaseballCollege baseballCollege baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
Women's athletic teams
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Football
However, following the resumption of football in 1949 by then-President E.B. Norton, the situation has greatly improved.
Bobby Wallace (football coach)
Bobby Wallace is a former college football coach. During his time as a head coach he served at North Alabama, Temple and West Alabama...
tenure as head football coach. Following a four-year rebuilding period after Wallace's arrival, the Lions compiled a 7-4-1 record in 1992 and lost in the second round of the Division II playoffs to Jacksonville State University, the eventual Division II national champion.
Over the next three years, UNA amassed a 41-1 record, which also encompassed three Gulf South Conference Championships and three consecutive NCAA Division II National Champions — the first so-called three-peat in NCAA history.
Mark Hudspeth amassed a 54-19 record since taking over the UNA head coaching job in 2002. Over the past 5 years, the Lions have had the winningest record out of any college football programs in the state, going 50-12. Hudspeth has led the Lions to at least a top-six finish four times in the last five years. He has been named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year twice.
On January 1, 2009, former Auburn
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
football coach Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden
Terry Bowden is an American football coach at the University of North Alabama. Bowden was previously the head coach at Salem University , Samford University , and Auburn University . Bowden is the son of former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden...
was introduced as head coach. He replaces Mark Hudspeth, who left to join Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
as an assistant coach. Bowden brings a 111-53-2 record to the school in addition to a long list of accomplishments that includes being named the 1993 National Coach of the Year, which stemmed from his first season as head coach in Division IA at Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
. He led his squad to an undefeated season in (1993).
Basketball
The University of North Alabama's basketball program has earned two Division II national championships and has made five Division II Final Four appearances and has played in nine NCAA Division II championship tournaments. UNA was the first Alabama college or university to win a national championship title in basketball and is only one of four Division II programs to have won more than one Division II basketball national championships.Under Coach Bill L. Jones’ leadership, the Lions won three Gulf South Conference
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
championships in 1977, 1981, and 1984 and three GSC Tournament Titles in 1981, 1984 and 1988. Jones led UNA to NCAA Tournaments in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1988, with his teams winning regional crowns in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1984.
Coach Gary Elliott led the Lions to their second national championship in 1991, as well as to four NCAA appearances in 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996.
Bobby Champagne, UNA’s sixth head basketball coach, has led the Lions to three straight Gulf South Conference tournament appearances and to the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 1996.
Women's Volleyball
The University of North Alabama women’s volleyball program holds numerous conferenceGulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II.-History:...
and regional titles and one Division II national championship, earned in 2003.
For the Lion's volleyball team, 2003 was a year marked with irony. While the team failed to win a GSC title for the first time in eight years, it excelled in the NCAA South Central Regional, Elite Eight and Final Four to secure the first national championship ever claimed by a UNA women’s athletic team.